Key statistics at a glance
- 86% of home inspections identify at least one issue requiring attention (Porch.com analysis of inspection reports).
- 19–25% of buyers waived their inspection contingency in recent monthly surveys (NAR REALTORS® Confidence Index, 2024–25).
- Over 85% of Americans surveyed felt pressure to skip inspections, insurance, or warranties to afford a home (Forbes Home survey).
- ~40% of recent buyers who waived an inspection cited the inspection's cost or winning a lower price as the reason (Forbes Home survey).
- 28% of recent buyers say their home needs more upkeep than expected — the single most common buyer regret (national survey data, 2024–25).
- 30% of buyers say they spent too much on their home, and 28% were blindsided by maintenance costs they never budgeted for (Clever Real Estate survey, 2024).
Inspection waivers: how common, and why
Waiving the inspection became a competitive-offer tactic during bidding wars, and it has persisted: recent NAR confidence surveys put the waiver rate between roughly one in five and one in four buyers. The most-cited reasons are cost pressure and competing against other offers — not confidence in the home's condition. Buyers who waived inspections account for a disproportionate share of post-purchase regret in survey data.
What inspections actually find
The 86% find-rate is the number worth sitting with: a large majority of homes — including well-presented ones — carry at least one issue worth knowing about before you remove conditions. The expensive categories are the ones photos rarely show clearly: electrical (knob-and-tube rewiring runs $8,000–15,000+), plumbing (poly-B repiping $4,000–15,000), roofing, and foundation. Our full 2026 repair-cost guide covers the ranges.
The regret data
Post-purchase surveys tell a consistent story: the most common regrets aren't about location or size — they're about condition and cost. “More upkeep than expected” (28%), “spent too much” (30%), and “blindsided by maintenance costs” (28%) top the lists, and buyers who skipped thorough inspections are over-represented in all three. The pattern suggests the problem isn't buying older or imperfect homes — it's buying them without knowing.
The Canadian context
- CREA forecasts ~475,000 residential transactions in Canada in 2026, with a national average price near $689,000 (CREA quarterly forecast, April 2026).
- The median first-time buyer household income reached ~$105,000 in CMHC's 2025 survey, and 38% of first-time buyers used the FHSA as a primary down-payment source.
- A licensed home inspection in Canada typically costs $400–600 — about 0.07% of that average home price, against an 86% chance it finds something worth knowing.
First-time buyers: older and stretched further
In the US, the first-time buyer share fell to a record-low 21% of the market in 2025 while the median first-time buyer age hit a record-high 40 years (NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers), before recovering toward ~35% of buyers by mid-2026 as inventory improved. Older, harder-won purchases raise the stakes of condition surprises: buyers waiting until 40 to buy have less time to recover from a five-figure repair they didn't see coming.
How to use these numbers
If you're competing for a home and tempted to waive conditions, the data says: don't go in blind. Learn what to look for in the listing before you offer, budget with real repair costs, and always get a licensed inspection before you buy.