Hidden costs of homeownership jump, tightening the squeeze on buyers

The hidden costs of homeownership are reaching nearly $16,000 per year nationwide, underscoring the ongoing affordability crisis crippling potential buyers. A new analysis from real estate marketplace Zillow and Thumbtack, an online marketplace for local services, found that insurance, maintenance and property tax can cost the average homeowner $15,979 per year. Maintenance costs account for $10,946 of that, while about $2,003 goes toward homeowners insurance and $3,030 toward property taxes, according to the November analysis.Collectively, those housing costs jumped 4.7% in the past year, out