Homeowners' mortgages include large share for insurance payments
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More than a quarter of New Orleans-area homeowners' mortgage payments went to insurance last year, up from the decade's low of 18.9% in 2019, data shows.
Why it matters: Rising costs for both insurance and property taxes threaten to make homeownership unaffordable for many.
The big picture: Nationally, a growing share of monthly payments are going toward insurance, and that's not expected to change anytime soon, according to ICE Mortgage Monitor, an industry data provider.
- The analysis looks at single-family homes with mortgages that have taxes and insurance escrowed.
Between the lines: More frequent natural disasters, plus rising costs to rebuild homes afterward, have hiked overall insurance costs, says Andy Walden, ICE's head of mortgage and housing market research.
- Rocketing home values also lift the cost of coverage, he tells Axios.
By the numbers: The U.S. average monthly insurance payment ballooned from $106 to $191 over the past decade, per the data.
- That's practically chump change in New Orleans, where the average monthly insurance payment has leapt from $284 to $477.
What's next: Insurify, which helps people compare quotes from multiple providers, projects home insurance premiums will climb in every U.S. state by the end of 2025 — with Louisiana expected to see the nation's largest rate increase of 27% — nearly $3,000 — to $13,937, by the end of 2025.
Go deeper: Why lawmakers have limited impact on your Louisiana homeowners' insurance rates