A new survey of 947 recent homebuyers found they spent four times more than expected on homebuying costs, with the average buyer getting hit with nearly $24,000 in expenses they didn't anticipate. More than half (55%) said they spent more on home repairs and maintenance than planned, making these costs the most surprising to buyers. One in three surveyed buyers reported their home inspector missed problems that ended up being costly. The findings from Clever Real Estate and Best Interest Financial reveal how unprepared Americans are for the true cost of homeownership, even in an era when information is just a Google search away.

This shock shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who understands how regulations drive up housing costs. Research from the Hoover Institution shows the median down payment on a California home in 2024 was around $85,000, far above the capacity of most renters. But the sticker price is just the beginning. Inclusionary zoning requirements — which force builders to sell some units below market rate — function as a tax on new construction, with estimates in California cities like Portola Valley exceeding $200,000 per market-rate home. These regulatory costs get passed along to buyers in ways that don't show up in the listing price. When government policies make building housing more expensive, buyers end up paying through hidden fees, delayed maintenance from previous owners, and aging infrastructure that inspectors can't always catch in a single walkthrough.

The mechanics work like this: when regulations restrict new housing supply, prices rise for existing homes. Sellers who've owned for years can pocket huge gains, but they often defer maintenance knowing desperate buyers will overlook problems in a tight market. California's state and local governments developed a maze of environmental and land-use regulation starting in the 1970s that drove house prices to record levels, with the value-to-income ratio reaching 4.2 in 2000, more than 50% above the national average of 2.7. Meanwhile, changes are happening at the federal level: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently removed certain homeowners insurance requirements that will reduce some costs for borrowers. But these tweaks around the edges don't address the core problem — there simply isn't enough housing being built, which means buyers are competing for a limited supply and often waiving inspection contingencies or buying homes "as-is" just to win a bid.

Survey author Jaime Seale noted that buyers aren't financially prepared "especially since there are so many online resources available," and suggested buyers ask trusted community members if there's anything else they should be asking since "you don't know what you don't know". That's good advice as far as it goes, but individual buyer education can't fix a structural problem. When regulations prevent builders from constructing enough homes to meet demand, surprise costs are inevitable. Buyers stretch their budgets to the max just to get in the door, leaving no cushion for the $85,000 down payment, the inspector who misses a cracked foundation, or the HVAC system that dies three months after closing. The real solution isn't better budgeting — it's removing the regulatory barriers that make housing artificially expensive in the first place.