April 10, 2026 | Mark Luis Foster

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the price of everything is up exponentially since COVID days — and that’s affected HOA fees. The media is ringing the bell.

From the US edition of the Independent:

Since 2019, the median monthly condo fee has gone up 29 percent, rising to $420 in 2025. During that same period, median HOA fees for single-family homeowners increased 26 percent, reaching $63 last year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Realtor.com data.

At our chapter meetings, we’ve heard that many HOAs have had double-digit percentage increases in HOA fees, driven largely by HOA insurance trends.  (By the way, we have May set aside for presentations by GAVNAT and Insurance Warehouse regarding insurance, and you won’t want to miss it.)

More from this story:

The high fees have kept many people who are interested in buying a condo from making a purchase. That includes Rebecca Lotsoff, who has been looking for a two-bedroom condo in the Chicago area since 2022. She told the Journal she didn’t want to pay a monthly fee above $500.

Some HOAs, like the one I live in, changed from “all in” insurance to “bare walls” for master insurance coverage, which lowered our overall insurance premium by $100K, but does shift more of the risk to homeowners’ HO-6 policies. That did have a positive effect on HOA assessments. And what have others considered?

…Some HOAs and condo associations are actively trying to limit fee hikes. Cindy Kielty, the board president of her HOA in St. Charles, Missouri, told the Journal that her HOA may cut back on services like watering the grass to keep costs low.

Oh no. Not the grass!  And then there’s this: