80% of Homeowners Have Regrets About Their Home, With 19% Feeling Remorse Within the First Month of Owning

Appearance is the biggest sore spot for homeowners, with 66% regretting how their home looks. This is followed by regrets about aspects of homeownership in general (58%), the home's location (45%), and the home-buying transaction (38%).

ST. LOUIS, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- About 80% of homeowners have some form of regret about their home, according to a new report from Clever Real Estate, a nationwide discount real estate broker where sellers can compare full-service, low-commission real estate agents near them and save money on their next sale.

Roughly 40% of homeowners felt buyer's remorse within their first year of owning, and 19% felt it within the first month. Nearly 1 in 10 homeowners (9%) had regrets before they even moved in.

Americans who bought in 2022 regret their timing most, with 32% saying it was not a good time to buy, the highest share of any year since 2000.

Fewer than half of homeowners (44%) like their home more now than when they bought it, and 46% say their home is not in better condition. More than a third (34%) wish they had bought a different home altogether.

The 66% of homeowners with appearance-related regrets point most often to outdated bathrooms (22%), kitchens (18%), and flooring (18%).

About half of homeowners regret a past renovation (50%) or found it cost more than expected (49%), while 46% have delayed repairs due to rising labor and material costs.

About 55% of respondents say owning has cost more than they expected, with property taxes and maintenance and repairs surprising them most, at 65% each. Nearly half of homeowners (45%) have regretted spending $1,000 or more on a single home expense, and 30% have regretted spending $5,000 or more.

Nearly 9 in 10 homeowners (87%) have experienced unexpected problems with their home, most often plumbing (39%), HVAC (37%), or appliance (36%) issues.

Of the 38% of homeowners who regret something about their purchasing experience, compromising on what they wanted (9%), rushing the process (8%), and overpaying (7%) lead, while just 4% apiece regret their real estate agent or not shopping around for a better mortgage rate.

Among the 45% with location regrets, too much traffic (10%), being too far from friends and family (10%), and bad neighbors (9%) top the list.

Although 41% of homeowners wish they could move, 60% say rising home prices have made them less likely to actually do it.

Even so, 91% do not regret becoming homeowners, and 92% believe buying was a good financial investment.

Read the full report at: https://listwithclever.com/research/home-buyers-regret

About Clever Real Estate
Clever Real Estate allows sellers to compare top-rated discount real estate brokers and low-commission realtors in their local area. Clever's content reaches over 12 million readers annually, and its nationwide agent matching service has a 4.9 star Trustpilot rating across more than 4,500 customer reviews. Since launching in 2017, Clever has reached over $17 billion in real estate sold, matched over 265,000 customers with realtors, and saved consumers over $250 million on commission fees. Clever's network spans over 13,000 agents across all 50 states.

CONTACT:
Nicole Lehman
Clever Real Estate
[email protected]
724-719-0406

SOURCE Clever Real Estate