Most Expensive Items New Homeowners Buy

New homeowners are often so excited about their new digs that they may go overboard in furnishing them.  What is your most expensive new home purchase?

 

Furniture, appliances, and remodeling projects are among the biggest expenses for new homeowners, who spend an average of $10,600 in the first year of homeownership, according to a recent analysis by the National Association of Home Builders. New owners spend an average of $3,778 on furnishings alone, according to NAHB’s analysis. Here are a few common expenditures recent home buyers made:

• Living room chairs and tables: $687
• Dining room and kitchen furniture: $345
• Window coverings: $215
• Sofas: $700
• Property alterations and repairs (particularly outdoor additions and alterations such as a new driveway, walkway, or fence): $3,729
• Appliances (particularly washers and dryers, lawnmowers and other yard equipment, and computer hardware and systems): $3,094

“The high level of spending by new home buyers may seem surprising—considering that many new homes come with installed appliances—but suggests that these purchases are nevertheless more frequent among these households,” the NAHB notes on its blog, Eye on Housing. A survey conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs shows that two-thirds of new homes built in 2015 came with no washer or dryer; 36 percent had no refrigerators. Most new homes, however, did come with cooking stoves, ranges, and ovens.