Home Repair Costs Up 76% Since 2015 as Energy Bills Climb Too

Repair bills, power bills and heating bills are all rising

For many homeowners who chose not to sell, the bill for staying put is now arriving. A LendingTree analysis of Census Bureau housing data found that the median home improvement project cost $2,113 in 2025. In 2015 it cost $1,200 in inflation-adjusted terms, which works out to a 76.1% real increase.30 The finding comes as household electricity prices hit record levels and heating forecasts point to another expensive winter.146 Taken together, the data show that owning a home is getting more expensive on several fronts at the same time.

Coverage of the LendingTree study is consistent on the main numbers. USA Today, IBTimes and Money Talks News all report the same 76% figure, the $1,433 average annual maintenance cost, and the gap between professional and do-it-yourself work.212622 Coverage differs in how it explains the increase and what it tells homeowners to do. When the energy data is placed alongside the repair data, the picture looks worse than the repair numbers alone suggest.

What the repair data shows

LendingTree's method matters. Researchers used the Census Bureau's American Housing Survey for 2015 through 2023 and adjusted the dollar figures to 2025 terms with the Consumer Price Index.30 So the 76% rise is in addition to general inflation. The steepest increase came between 2021 and 2023, when the median project cost rose 22.2%.30

The study also shows that most of this spending is routine. Nearly 6 in 10 owner-occupied homes, or 51.6 million of 86.9 million, had at least one project during the survey's two-year window. That added up to about 139.9 million projects, or 2.7 per improved home.30 The most common category was not a kitchen remodel. It was replacing or adding water heaters, dishwashers and garbage disposals, which made up 11.7% of projects at a median cost of $845.30 LendingTree's chief consumer finance analyst, Matt Schulz, said maintenance and repairs are more common than large renovations, and that their frequency makes them a real financial burden for families.21

The age of a home is the clearest predictor of upkeep costs. Average routine maintenance is about $1,433 a year. That rises to $1,706 for homes built before 1940 and falls to $173 for homes built in 2022 and 2023.30 Coverage that framed the story around new construction noted that a new home comes with a new roof, a new HVAC system and a builder warranty, so the first ten years are usually quiet.24

One outlet garbled the numbers. It presented $1,200 to $2,113 as a range households could expect to spend, and it described $1,706 as the average renovation cost.27 In the study, those figures are a ten-year before-and-after comparison and the maintenance average for pre-1940 homes.30 The error shows how easily a single striking percentage gets distorted as a story spreads.

Why the costs climbed

Outlets agree on the cause in general terms but not on how much to blame each factor. Schulz pointed to rising prices across the economy and said labor and building costs are probably a large part of it.25 Some coverage went further and tied higher costs to labor shortages linked to strict immigration policy, along with expensive construction materials.27 That claim goes beyond what the study itself measures, so it should be read as context, not as a finding of the LendingTree data.

The second explanation, which most coverage shares, is the mortgage rate lock-in. Schulz described homeowners who cannot bring themselves to give up a 3% mortgage for a 7% one and so stay in homes that no longer fit their needs.25 One headline put it this way: projects cost 76% more, but a 3% mortgage still beats moving.24 The study offers some support. Nearly half (47.3%) of projects were done by owners who moved in after 2014.30 This analysis reads the lock-in effect as more than a housing-market quirk. It turns what would have been a one-time cost of moving into a stream of repair bills that keeps going.

Electricity: record prices

Repair costs are only part of the pressure. Energy Information Administration data show the average residential electricity price was 18.19 cents per kilowatt-hour in January through July 2026, up 6.9% from 17.01 cents a year earlier.15 A separate analysis of the same federal data put the figure at 18.22 cents, 39.5% higher than the same months of 2020. After inflation, that is an 8.6% increase.14 The same analysis puts the average monthly residential bill at $159.89, about $44.59 more than in 2020.14

The increases are uneven. In January through July, prices rose year over year in 47 states and Washington, D.C. D.C. rose 17.8%, Maryland 13.6% and New York 13.0%, while Connecticut fell 7.7%.11 Hawaii's June rate rose 28.7% from a year earlier, to 52.7 cents per kWh.12

One point stands out for households: higher usage does not explain these bills. In July 2026, residential prices rose 4.9% while residential electricity sales grew only 1.0%.17 The EIA expects wholesale power prices in its tracked markets to average about 11% higher in 2026 than in 2025.16 Explanations vary by source and include grid spending, weather and data-center demand. One analysis highlighted an elevenfold increase in capacity prices in the PJM grid region, which it attributed mainly to data centers.14 Outlets also report slightly different EIA projections for 2027. Some cite 18.6 cents per kWh and another cites 18.7 cents from the October outlook.1416 Either way, both point to slower increases, not lower prices.

The financial strain is real. About 31% of Americans say they struggled to pay an electric bill in the past year, and 48% of lower-income consumers say the same.20 A Consumer Reports survey found that one in five Americans are considering cutting back on food to cover power costs.15

Heating: two forecasts, two different answers

The heating outlook depends on which forecast you use, and this is where the two main sources disagree most. The National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA) projects average heating spending of $1,030 this winter. That is $82 more than last year, an 8.7% increase and more than twice the inflation rate.1 NEADA expects electric heating costs to rise 9.0%, natural gas 5.8%, propane 8.7% and heating oil 31.3%. It links the oil increase to the war in Iran.1

The EIA's Winter Fuels Outlook, released October 6, is mixed. It expects natural gas households to spend about $640, down 9%, and propane households $1,246, down 3%. It expects electric heating to cost $1,196, up 4%, and heating oil $2,115, up 21%, at an average of $5.26 a gallon.2 The two forecasts use different methods, so they disagree on natural gas. They agree that heating oil is the largest increase.3 Both depend on weather. NEADA says an expected El Niño is holding down its projection, and the EIA assumes a warmer Northeast and a much colder West.13

The best way to reconcile them is to treat NEADA's figures as a measure of strain on vulnerable households and the EIA's as a fuel-by-fuel baseline. Their agreement on oil is what matters most for older Northeastern homes. Those are the same pre-1940 homes LendingTree identifies as the most expensive to maintain.30 NEADA also notes that heating costs have risen 23.9% since the winter of 2021-22.7

Practical steps

The advice in the coverage is sound but limited. Money Talks News suggests handling small jobs yourself, since the median DIY project cost $845 compared with $4,103 for professional work.22 It suggests setting aside about $120 a month for maintenance, more for older homes, and paying cash instead of carrying repair costs on credit cards.22 It also recommends keeping receipts for improvements, because the IRS lets owners add them to their cost basis, which lowers the taxable gain when they sell.22 Most households already pay cash: savings funded 75.7% of projects in the study.21

The gap between DIY and professional costs needs a caveat. LendingTree points out that the most expensive jobs, such as roof replacements, usually require professionals, which pulls up the professional median.30 Money Talks News also warns against doing your own electrical, gas-line or roofing work.22 Some of the gap is just a difference in the kinds of jobs involved.

The energy data also shows something the repair-focused advice leaves out. Maintenance that improves efficiency, such as caulking and changing furnace filters, saves money on both repairs and utility bills.22 Coverage aimed at efficiency-minded readers points to rebates and efficiency upgrades as ways to offset costs.28 For lower-income households, NEADA is lobbying to expand federal LIHEAP heating aid from about $4 billion to $7 billion.3

The main conclusion is that the 76% figure understates the pressure on homeowners. Owners who stayed for their low mortgage rates are paying more for repairs, electricity rates are up nearly 40% since 2020, and a winter that is expensive by most measures is ahead.30141 The low mortgage rate is still worth keeping, but the other costs of owning a home have risen sharply.