It typically depends on several variables. The first being the experience level of the home inspector. New to the industry inspectors are naturally going to charge less than experienced home inspectors who already have a steady stream of past client referrals and real estate agents referring them business. Next, busier inspectors are typically going to charge more than less busy inspectors in the same area because they are able to raise prices to a point without losing business based on their reputation. The less busy inspector lowers their price in order to attract more business. In areas where winter weather can be severe such as in the mid west or the north east, the real estate market is more seasonal. This results in the winter being a slower time for home sales vs the spring and summer. This in turn causes some home inspectors to change their pricing models based on seasonal demand – lower prices in the winter and higher prices in the summer. If the home inspector lives farther away from the property vs another inspector, the further away inspector may add a sur charge due to the extra drive time. Generally speaking, the larger the home, the more expensive the home inspection fee since most inspectors will have an un-published inspection rate per hour that they work off of. A larger house will take longer to inspect than a smaller house and therefore result in a higher fee. An older house may also add to the inspection time and by extension the inspection cost. A vacant house is easier to inspect than the same house if it were occupied and had all the occupant’s furniture and belongings present. So some inspectors may charge less for vacant homes. Areas where all homes are more expensive may also have higher inspection fees than other areas due to the general cost of living differences between areas. If the housing market is tight like in a Seller’s market, Buyer’s tend to waive inspections (at their own peril) in order to win the bid among multiple Buyers. This market, as we experienced in 2021/22, tends to push inspection fees down because there are less home inspections being conducted over all so Inspectors may not be as busy as they would like to be and lower their fees to win more business. So with that said, a typical home inspection for the average 4 bedroom 2 bath 2,400 sq ft home can range from $300 to $600, depending on all of the factors mentioned above. The inspection fee for a home in the 3 br 1.5 ba 1500 sq ft class can range from $250 to $400. Of course there are outliers that can affect those price ranges such as promotional offers, discounts, and so forth. Most Inspectors in a local market will probably be within +/- $100 of each other, not withstanding the outliers.
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