Buying a home often means making high-stakes decisions under pressure, and for a majority of homeowners, at least some of those choices don't feel quite right in hindsight.

Whether it’s about their home purchase, their home’s appearance, or their home's location, 80% of homeowners have some form of regret, according to a new Clever survey of 1,000 property owners:

• 66% of homeowners have regrets about the way their home looks.
• 58% of homeowners have regrets about their home and homeownership in general.
• 45% of homeowners have regrets about their home's location.
• 38% of homeowners have regrets about their home-buying experience.

Despite all their second-thoughts, the challenges of homeownership haven't outweighed its overall appeal: 91% do not regret becoming homeowners.

Nearly 2 in 3 Homeowners Regret Their Home's Appearance

Design trends change quickly, and homeowners don't always keep up. About 66% of homeowners have regrets about how their home looks.

Those who bought a fixer-upper (75%) are the most likely to regret their home's appearance, but many who bought a move-in ready home (67%), a recently renovated home (53%), and a new construction home (52%) also feel remorse.

Homeowners most commonly regret that their home has:

• Outdated bathrooms (22%)
• Outdated kitchen (18%)
• Old or damaged flooring (18%)
• Old or damaged windows and doors (16%)
• Poor landscaping (13%)

Homeowners have plenty they'd change about their homes, but turning their vision into reality isn't always easy. About 49% say remodeling has been more expensive than expected, and 46% have had to put off renovations and repairs because of rising labor and material costs.

If money weren't a factor, homeowners would first remodel the rooms they regret most: 20% say they'd start with the kitchen, and 19% say they'd start with the bathrooms.

However, priorities vary from generation to generation, with millennial homeowners more likely to upgrade exterior areas. About 18% of millennials would improve their outdoor spaces and 11% would add a pool, compared to 13% and 2% of boomers, respectively.

Meanwhile, boomers (20%) are twice as likely as millennials (10%) to say they wouldn't change anything about their home.

46% Say Their Home's Condition Hasn’t Improved Since They Bought It

Homeowners have tried to improve their home's appearance, with 73% saying they have renovated or remodeled. But getting good results isn't always simple.

Half of homeowners (50%) have regrets about renovations they've made. The most common regrets are that:

• They spent too much (16%)
• It took too long (13%)
• They chose the wrong contractor (11%)
• They underestimated the disruption to daily life (8%)
• They did the renovation themselves instead of hiring a professional (7%)

Renovations are stressful, often taking more time and money than expected. But many homeowners will endure the inconvenience for a space that better fits their needs.

The investment, however, doesn't always deliver the results homeowners expect. Only 44% of homeowners say they like their home more now than when they bought it.

What's more, 46% say their home is not in better condition than when they bought it — a trend more pronounced among boomers. About 14% of boomers say their home is in worse condition, compared to 9% of millennials.

Having owned their homes longer than millennials, boomers are more likely to see the effects of wear and tear, which may be harder to address given the physical demands of upkeep and the fixed incomes of many aging homeowners.

More Than Half Say Owning a Home Costs More Than Expected

A home's appearance is far from the only source of regret for homeowners. For many, it's the sheer commitment of what owning a home actually demands. About 58% of owners have regrets about homeownership in general.

More than half (55%) say homeownership has been more expensive than expected, while nearly a quarter (21%) say they regret those higher-than-expected costs.

Homeowners say their other top regrets are that homeownership in general is stressful (17%), they have experienced unexpected issues with their home (17%), and their home needs too much work (12%).

Of all the homeownership costs, property taxes (65%) and maintenance and repairs (65%) have surprised homeowners the most.

Unfortunately, they’re an inevitable part of homeownership. In fact, 87% of homeowners have experienced problems, such as plumbing (39%), HVAC (37%), or appliance (36%) issues, in their home.

This can be especially frustrating for homeowners who expect newer homes to need fewer repairs. However, 83% of those who own new construction and recently renovated homes each say they have encountered a problem with their home.

For homeowners, these unexpected challenges are part of the financial reality of owning property, but a single bill can leave a lasting dent — causing many to question if the cost is really worth it.

Nearly half of homeowners (45%) have regretted spending at least $1,000 on a single home-related purchase, while a third (30%) have regretted spending at least $5,000.

Home-related spending is a particular source of regret for millennials, with 68% expressing remorse, compared to 38% of boomers.

More than half of millennials (58%) have regretted spending $1,000 or more on their home, and more than a third (36%) have regretted spending at least $5,000 on their home. Just 34% and 24% of boomers say the same, respectively.

44% Say Their Home's Increase in Value Has Exceeded Expectations

Despite the surprising costs, 92% of owners think buying a home has been a good financial investment.

Home values can stagnate or fall during market slumps, but they generally rise over time. In fact, 44% of homeowners say their home's value has increased more than expected.

The percentage rises to 50% of boomers, whose lower-priced homes have likely had decades to appreciate. Meanwhile, only 37% of millennials say their home's value has increased more than expected.

Having watched home prices surge for much of their adult lives, millennials may have expected more appreciation than was realistic. About 11% say their home's value has increased less than expected, while 15% say their home's value has remained steady when they thought it would increase.

Just 7% and 4% of boomers say the same, respectively.

Nearly Half of Homeowners Regret Their Home's Location

For homeowners looking to maximize their home's value, location matters. Buyers will often pay more for desirable locations that offer safe neighborhoods, quality schools, and easy access to amenities.

That makes choosing where to live one of the most consequential decisions, but 45% of homeowners have regrets about their home's location.

The most common regrets include:

• Too much traffic (10%)
• Too far from friends or family (10%)
• Bad neighbors (9%)
• The neighborhood isn't walkable (7%)
• There's not enough to do nearby (6%)

Finding the right home and the right location can be difficult for buyers, especially young ones with the tightest budgets. Consequently, they often compromise on the location of their home.

Millennials (62%) are nearly twice as likely as boomers (33%) to have regrets about where they live.

More Than 1 in 3 Homeowners Have Regrets About Their Home-Buying Transaction

Even if their home checks all the right boxes, homeowners may still wonder if they could have gotten a better deal. About 38% of homeowners have regrets about their home purchase.

Millennials are more likely to question the decisions they made during the purchase, with 58% saying they have at least one regret about the transaction.

Boomers, on the other hand, have more years of homeownership behind them and are much more likely to feel confident in the choices they made. More than three-fourths (76%) say they don't regret anything about the choices they made when buying their home.

The most common regret among homeowners is making too many compromises, with nearly 1 in 10 (9%) wishing they hadn't budged on their priorities. But homeowners also regret:

• Rushing the process (8%)
• Overpaying (7%)
• Not negotiating enough (7%)
• Not weighing the pros and cons (6%)
• Making a down payment that was too small (5%)

Regret about the home-buying process isn't always about what buyers did or didn't do. When they made the purchase can cause remorse, too.

Those who purchased a home in the past five years are the most likely to say they didn't buy at a good time, with 26% saying their timing could have been better.

Specifically, homeowners who bought in 2022 are the most likely to regret the timing of their purchase, with 32% saying it wasn't a good time to buy — the highest percentage among any year since 2000.

The feelings of 2022 homeowners aren't entirely unfounded. At the start of the year, mortgage rates were still near historic lows, giving buyers a brief window to secure a home at a more affordable price. But by the end of the year, rates had nearly doubled from 3.45% to 6.31%.

40% of Homeowners Felt Buyer's Remorse Within a Year

Buying a home is exciting, but over time, buyers may realize that what they thought was a great fit doesn’t actually work for them.

About 40% of homeowners say they first started to feel regret about their home within a year, including 9% who felt it before moving in.

Millennials, who have less experience anticipating how a home will function day to day, are even more likely to experience regret early on. About 60% say they felt remorse within a year, and more than 1 in 10 (11%) felt it before they even moved in.

That early regret never really fades for some homeowners. More than a third (34%) wish they had bought a different home.

About 41% of homeowners wish they could move, but 60% say increasing home prices have made them less likely to actually do so.

Homeownership Doesn't Always Deliver What Buyers Expect

Home buyers often have assumptions about what benefits homeownership will deliver. But when reality falls short, regrets tend to follow.

A better quality of life is the benefit homeowners are most likely to expect, but it is also the benefit most often missed. Of the 42% who expected it, 12% say their quality of life didn't actually improve.

Although some buyers didn't get the benefits they anticipated, others discovered that homeownership delivered rewards they never expected — although financial perks were rare.

Nearly a quarter experienced benefits they did not expect: greater freedom over their space (23%), more outdoor space (22%), more privacy (22%), and a sense of accomplishment (22%).

Even with those pleasant surprises, not everyone feels homeownership is worth their unmet expectations. Nearly 1 in 5 millennials (19%) say they regret becoming homeowners, and 25% wish they were renting instead.

Most homeowners, however, are still glad they purchased: 91% do not regret becoming homeowners.

Methodology

Clever Real Estate surveyed 1,000 American property owners concerning their experiences and regrets of homeownership. The survey ran July 23, 2026.

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