Homeowner associations (HOAs) manage their communities’ properties, making sure the rules are followed and the amenities in good working order. But enforcing a no-flag law and cleaning the pool everyday comes with a price … a rising price, according the latest report from Realtor.com.
The median HOA fee was $135 per month last year, a $10 increase from 2024. In 2019, the charge was $108 monthly.
HOA dues are just one of those ancillary obligations a growing number of owners have to pay, along with insurance and property taxes. And they are “straining” owners in many parts of the country, the report noted.
"HOAs are no longer confined to condos or brand-new developments," said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com. "The HOA-heavy construction boom earlier in the decade is now filtering into the existing-home market, and many of those newer communities were built with shared amenities, private roads and common spaces that require ongoing maintenance. At the same time, rising insurance costs, stricter building safety standards, and higher labor and material prices are pushing associations to raise dues, making monthly HOA fees a much more common — and more costly — feature of homeownership than they were even a few years ago."
Relative to home prices, the most expensive associations were found in Florida, with the four most expensive HOAs all in the Sunshine State.
"Florida is a clear outlier when it comes to HOA costs," Berner said. "Between rising insurance premiums and stricter safety and reserve requirements, many associations are facing higher operating expenses that ultimately get passed on to homeowners."
In the Miami to West Palm Beach area, dues on average account for 27% of the total monthly cost of owning a house. In Panama City, it’s almost 23%. It’s 20% in Naples and 19.6% in Ft. Myers. Two other Florida markets — Sarasota and Vero Beach — made into the Realtor.com’s top 10.
Not only are HOA fees rising, they’re becoming more prevalent, the report reports. The share of homes for sale that are subject to the charge reached 43.6% in 2025, up from 41.9% the year before, and 34.3% in 2019.
HOAs are more highly concentrated among newly built properties (67.9%) than existing homes (38.9%). Age is the main reason: The typical existing house with a HOA was built in 1998; the average existing home without one was built in 1968.
On a state-by-state basis, Nevada leads the country with 68% of the houses for sale there are subject to HOAs. The fewest listing with HOAs were found in South Dakota, where the share was just 12.3%.
