Average Cost of Home Repairs in the First Year
Reviewed
What should you budget in the first year?
There is no verified first-year spending average behind this page. For planning, Fannie Mae suggests an annual maintenance reserve of 1%–4% of home value, including repairs and replacements. This is a savings guideline, not an estimate of what your particular home will cost.
Start with the work your inspection identified and current local quotes. A percentage reserve cannot tell you whether a roof needs replacement this year or whether a previous owner already completed that work.
An illustrative reserve for a $400,000 home
| Planning assumption | Annual reserve | Monthly contribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1% of home value | $4,000 | $333 |
| 2% of home value | $8,000 | $667 |
| 4% of home value | $16,000 | $1,333 |
Fannie Mae places newer homes toward 1% and suggests considering 4% for homes more than 30 years old. The 2% row is an intermediate illustration, not a measured average or an age-specific recommendation. These amounts are alternatives, not costs to add together.
Turn the guideline into your home's list
- Check known issues first. Review the inspection, seller disclosures and any completed-repair receipts. Ask the inspector or a qualified specialist which unresolved findings need prompt attention and which can be monitored.
- Get itemized quotes. Record the work, timing, labor, materials, permit requirements and exclusions. Keep an unquoted item visible as an unknown instead of assigning a precise-looking cost.
- List routine upkeep separately. Use your equipment manuals and service history to identify maintenance due this year. Avoid counting the same job as both maintenance and repair.
- Keep optional projects separate. Paint, decor and upgrades may matter to you, but they should not hide money needed for known repair work.
- Review the reserve after a real expense. Record what you spent, update the remaining work and choose a contribution you can sustain. A reserve is useful even when you cannot immediately reach a percentage target.
What these numbers do and do not show
Source and method: Fannie Mae: How to Build Your Maintenance and Repair Budget, checked October 6, 2026. Percentage examples below are arithmetic illustrations of a savings guideline, not HomeScore survey findings, contractor quotes or forecasts of your first-year spending.
This page does not establish a national first-year median, the percentage of owners affected by each repair, or a guaranteed cost range. Known major work can exceed a percentage guideline; a quiet year can cost less. For a step-by-step worksheet approach, read the first-year repair budget guide.
Put the next tasks in order
Use the new homeowner checklist and first-year plan to organize what needs attention now and what can wait.