When your $600 monthly HOA payment jumps to $1,300: How monthly and special fees are strangling homeowners

The Wall Street Journal reported that for single-family homeowners, median HOA fees jumped 26% from 2019, to $63 a month, according to Realtor.com data (1). And for condo owners, the median monthly condo fee was $420 in 2025 — a 29% increase since 2019.

An analysis by LendingTree found that in 2024, across the 100 largest metros in the U.S., about 17.5 million homeowners said they paid HOA or condo fees. And about 2.6 million of those people, nearly 15%, said they paid at least $500 a month in fees (2).

When you add these fees to the high mortgage rates and home prices Americans have been facing, along with higher costs for utilities and insurance, it's a combination that could leave some homeowners struggling to keep up.

What are HOAs?

HOAs are also becoming more common, with U.S. Census Bureau data showing that in 2024, 81% of new single-family homes sold belonged to homeowners associations (3).

HOAs are made up of volunteer homeowners in a real estate development, including condos, townhomes or single-family homes (4). HOAs typically set rules for the development, and they can also oversee amenities and shared spaces, charging dues to residents.

One California resident told The Wall Street Journal that his condo association fees have more than doubled since 2015 (5). Donald DeFesi said he pays $1,500 a month in fees; when those fees are combined with his insurance and property taxes, the total is more than what he pays on the principal and interest for his mortgage.

And a Colorado couple told The Wall Street Journal that their monthly condo fees were about $600 when they bought their home in 2019, but now they pay almost $1,300.

What you can do

If you're ready to buy a home, make sure you look into whether the property is part of a homeowners association.

If the property is part of an HOA, research what the fees go toward, and what the fee increases have been in recent years.

According to HomeLight, HOAs may also require you to pay an upfront fee toward the HOA reserve, which is an emergency fund the association keeps in case of major repairs (6).

Condo and home buyers will also want to look into special assessments — whether there are any incoming special assessments, or if there have been in the recent past. Special assessments are one-time fees for maintenance or improvements that can't be covered by the association's reserve fund (7).

HOAs are required to declare special assessments to buyers (8), but it's worth talking to the HOA about whether there are any major infrastructure or repair projects coming down the pipeline in the future, and whether there are any discussions about upgrades or changes to shared amenities as well.

You can also look at the HOA's bylaws to see how special assessments are levied, and check out the financials of the HOA — if the reserve fund is low, it could mean the potential for a special assessment in the future (9).