Clever Offers: 85% of Homeowners Faced Unexpected Repair Costs Last Year

(Illustration courtesy of Blue Bird via pexels.com)

About 85% of homeowners spent money on an unplanned home repair last year, according to a new report from Clever Offers, St. Louis.

The firm’s new report found that half of American homeowners say their home needs some repairs or renovations that they can’t afford right now; two-thirds (65%) admit they’ve ignored a home maintenance task within the past five years.

But putting off maintenance resulted in repairs that could have been avoided for nearly one in three homeowners. Of those, 72% spent at least $1,000 on a preventable repair and 44% spent at least $5,000.

Among homeowners who have renovated in the past five years, 70% went over budget and 58% have at least one regret, including spending too much money (22%) and the renovation taking too long (16%).

Clever Offers found that 30% of homeowners have gone into debt completing a renovation project and 19% have had to stop a project early due to unexpected costs.

Over half of homeowners (58%) have nothing saved for emergency repairs. Among those with savings for renovations, 32% have less than $5,000 and 60% have less than $10,000.

Nearly half of Americans (46%) plan to spend more on renovations in 2026 than in 2025, including 46% who expect to spend $5,000 or more and 28% who plan to spend at least $10,000.

Although half of homeowners (51%) say they’ve spent more on renovations than planned since purchasing their home, 64% would rather renovate than move to a home that’s already been remodeled.