41% Of Homeowners Put Off A Repair That Ended Up Costing More Later And 77% Are Delaying Or Scaling Back Projects Because Of Rising Costs

That little drip under the sink. The AC unit that rattles a bit more every week. The loose shingle you keep meaning to look at. Most homeowners have a short list of repairs they plan to get to eventually, and a new industry survey suggests that “eventually” can get expensive.

According to coverage in ACHR News, Housecall Pro’s State of Home Service Spending 2026 survey found that 41% of homeowners delayed a repair that ended up costing more later. That is a lot of people who tried to save a few dollars and paid for it in the end.

What The Survey Says

ACHR News published its 10 takeaways from the Housecall Pro survey on May 29, 2026. The survey covered more than 1,100 households. Housecall Pro is a software company that serves home service businesses, so this is an industry survey rather than a government study, and it is worth reading with that in mind. Still, the numbers paint a picture many homeowners will recognize:

41% delayed a repair that cost more later.
77% are delaying or scaling back projects because of rising costs.
68% get other quotes when the price is higher than they expected.
56% expect to spend over $3,000 on home projects.
The average HVAC repair is about $1,200, according to the coverage.

Why Waiting Can Backfire

Nobody needs a survey to understand the basic idea. Small problems tend to get bigger. A minor leak can soak into wood and drywall. A strange noise from a system can be an early sign of something wearing out. A gap in a seal lets weather in, and weather does not take days off.

That does not mean every delayed repair turns into a disaster. Plenty of things can wait for a better time, and the survey does not claim otherwise. It says that 41% of homeowners ran into a delayed repair that cost more afterward. The takeaway is to tell the difference between a repair that can safely wait and one that cannot.

Money Is Tight, And That Is Real

It would be unfair to scold anyone here. The same survey found that 77% of homeowners are delaying or scaling back projects because of rising costs. Many people are not ignoring repairs out of laziness. They are looking at their budgets and making hard choices.

And more than half expect big bills ahead. The survey found that 56% expect to spend over $3,000 on home projects. When a single HVAC repair averages about $1,200, it is easy to see why a homeowner might put off the phone call and hope for the best.

A Smarter Way To Decide What Waits

Try sorting your repair list into three piles. This is general common sense, not something from the survey, but it can help you spend wisely.

Do it now. Anything involving water getting where it should not be, anything that could be a safety concern, and anything that is clearly getting worse. These are the repairs most likely to cost you more by waiting.
Do it soon. Items that are not urgent but could turn into the first pile if ignored for a season, such as worn seals or aging parts.
Do it when you can. Cosmetic fixes and nice-to-haves that will not cause damage if they wait.

If you are not sure which pile something belongs in, ask a professional to look at it. Many companies will tell you honestly whether a problem is urgent. And if one does not, you can ask someone else.

Get Another Quote

The survey found that 68% of homeowners get other quotes when the price is higher than they expected. That is a good habit, and it is worth copying. A few tips for doing it well:

Ask each company to put its estimate in writing.
Make sure each quote covers the same work so you are comparing like with like.
Ask what is included, such as parts, labor and cleanup, and whether there is a fee just to show up.
Do not choose on price alone. The cheapest bid is not always the best deal if the work is sloppy.

Keep Small Things From Becoming Big Ones

A little routine can head off a lot of expense. Walk through your house a couple of times a year with a notepad. Look under sinks, check around windows and doors, glance at the ceiling for stains, and listen to your heating and cooling when they run. Write down anything that looks or sounds different from last time.

Set aside a little money each month for repairs, even if it is only a small amount. The point is not to cover everything. It is to make sure that when something does break, a surprise bill is less of a shock and you are less tempted to wait.

The survey is a reminder that the cheapest repair is often the one you do early. If you have something on your list that has been there a while, now is a good time to either take care of it or at least get a quote. That way, you decide when to spend the money instead of letting the problem decide for you.

Willow and Hearth