How much does a second home cost per year?

Plan on 2–3% of the home's value in yearly carrying costs — property tax, maintenance, insurance, utilities and service — plus the opportunity cost of the capital net of appreciation. On a $500,000 house that totals roughly $30,000–45,000 a year all-in.

How many nights a year make a second home worth it financially?

The break-even sits where true cost per night equals the comparable hotel rate — typically 80–150 nights a year at realistic inputs. Most second homes see 20–30 nights, which is why the hotel usually wins on pure money.

Does rental income make a second home pay for itself?

Rarely fully: after platform fees, cleaning, management and repairs, net rent is typically 55–70% of gross, against carrying costs plus the capital's forgone return. It narrows the premium — this calculator subtracts your honest net figure and re-prices each night.

Second Home Cost Calculator — True Cost Per Night vs the Hotel

Purchase price, all-in

Nights you’ll actually use it

nights/yr

The hotel you’d book instead

$/night

Carrying costs, yearly

$/yr

Add what applies to you:

Advanced settings

Horizon

years

Selling costs at exit

A year of owning, split

The ledger

The more you go, the cheaper the night

True cost per night at every level of actual use, against the hotel’s flat line. The crossing is how often you’d have to go for the house to win on money. Hover to explore.

Three levels of actually going

Before the offer

How we calculate

What is included

The yearly cost of owning is the carrying cost (tax, upkeep, insurance, service — itemized or as one figure) plus the capital’s quiet cost: what the purchase money would have earned in the market, minus what the house itself appreciates, with selling costs shaved off the exit value and the whole thing annualized over your horizon. Net rent, if any, comes off the top. Divide by the nights you honestly use it: that is the true room rate, compared against the hotel you’d otherwise book.

What is estimated or left out

Straight-line annualization slightly flatters the early years. Furnishing, the hours you spend managing the place, and hosting wear are not modeled — nor is the value of grandmother’s furniture having a home, a standing invitation for twelve, or the door that opens without a booking app. Utility beyond nights slept is real; it just deserves to know its price, which is what the premium line states.

The formula, in plain words

carry   = tax% × P + upkeep% × P + insurance + service − net rent
g       = (1 + market)^years
cost    = P×g + carry-and-growth − P×(1+appr.)^years × (1 − sell%)
per year  = cost / years        per night = per year / nights
verdict = per night vs the hotel's rate · parity at 1×

Common questions

How much does a second home really cost per year?: A workable floor: 2–3% of the value in carrying costs (tax, upkeep, insurance, service) — then add the opportunity cost of the capital, net of appreciation. On a $500k house that lands around $30–45k a year all-in, which is why the per-night figure surprises owners who budgeted only the property tax.
How many nights a year justify buying instead of hotels?: The break-even is where the true cost per night meets your comparable hotel rate — for typical inputs, somewhere between 80 and 150 nights a year. At the 20–30 nights most second homes actually see, the hotel usually wins on money alone; the chart above prints your exact crossing.
Doesn’t appreciation pay for the carrying costs?: Sometimes, in strong markets — the model nets appreciation against the return your capital forgoes, so the comparison stays fair. But at typical assumptions the gap between 3% house growth and 6% market growth is itself a carrying cost, not a subsidy. Run 0% appreciation before believing the good number.

Second Home, Honestly Priced