China vs USA Home Ownership Cost Calculator (2026)

Home Ownership Cost Calculator

Defaults are 2026 US national figures. Replace them with your own numbers.

🇺🇸 Your US home

Home price ($) Down payment (%) Mortgage rate (%) Term (years) Or your monthly P&I ($) Property tax ($/year) Home insurance ($/year) HOA ($/month) Home size (sq ft)

Paid off your mortgage? Enter 0 for monthly P&I. Median HOA fee for US owners who pay one: $120/month with a mortgage (Census, 2024).

🇨🇳 Same size in Yiyang

Size (m²) Price (¥ per m²) Property fee (¥/m²/month) Home insurance (¥/year) Exchange rate (¥ per $)

Size follows your US home automatically. ¥5,800/m² is the median of the 10 apartment listings on our site (September 2026). Home insurance is optional in China, and most Yiyang owners skip it: apartments are reinforced-concrete buildings, with no wildfire exposure and low earthquake risk. Enter a quote if you want coverage. Annual property tax: ¥0 for owner-occupied homes.

🇺🇸 US: yearly cost

🇨🇳 Yiyang: yearly cost

Owning the same space in Yiyang costs—

The Numbers Behind the Defaults

$429,100US median existing-home price, Aug 2026 (NAR)

7.03%30-year mortgage rate, Sept 24, 2026 (Freddie Mac)

$4,427Average US property tax bill, 2025 (ATTOM)

$2,490Average US home insurance, 2026 (NerdWallet)

¥0Annual property tax, owner-occupied home in Yiyang

¥1.5/m²Monthly property fee, newer Yiyang complexes

1%One-time deed tax, homes ≤140 m² (since Dec 2024)

¥5,800/m²Median of our Yiyang apartment listings, Sept 2026

Read the Series

Each part of the calculator has a full article behind it, with sources and the catches.

Property tax

Americans Are Voting to Cut Property Taxes. Most Chinese Homeowners Don't Pay One.

$4,427 a year in the US. $0 a year in Yiyang — and the catches.

HOA fees

China's "HOA" Costs $22 a Month. So Who Fixes the Roof?

Monthly fees, special assessments, and who pays for repairs.

Cost of living

Cost of Living in Yiyang, Line by Line

What daily life costs once you own the home.

Buy vs rent

Why Buy, Not Rent, in Yiyang

When owning beats renting in a low-cost city.

Mortgage rates · coming soon

Rates just passed 7%. Why most buyers in China pay cash.

Home insurance · coming soon

US premiums vs insuring a home in China.

What This Calculator Does — and Doesn't — Tell You

Mortgage payments aren't all cost. Part of every US payment is principal, which builds equity. The calculator counts the full payment because it's cash leaving your account each month.
In China, you usually pay cash. Foreign buyers generally can't get a Chinese mortgage, so the purchase price is paid up front. That money could otherwise be invested; the calculator shows the up-front amount separately.
Left out on both sides: utilities, repairs inside your home, closing and selling costs, price changes, and currency moves. China's one-time repair-fund deposit is also excluded.
Tax rules can change. China has authorized broader property tax pilots; none has reached Yiyang. See the property tax article for details.
Buying rules apply. Foreign nationals generally need to work or study in China and can buy one home for their own use. See the buying guide.

Want real numbers for a real apartment?

Pick any listing and we'll send the price, size, property fee, and one-time deed tax so you can run the calculator on an actual home.

See Yiyang Listings

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Sources

General information, not financial, tax or legal advice.

FAQ

How much does it cost to own a home in the US each year?

For a median-priced US home ($429,100 in August 2026, per the National Association of Realtors) bought with 20% down at a 7.03% 30-year rate, principal and interest come to roughly $2,290 a month. Add the 2025 average property tax bill of $4,427 (ATTOM) and an average homeowners insurance premium of about $2,490 (NerdWallet, 2026), and the total is around $34,000 a year before any HOA fee, utilities or maintenance.

How much does it cost to own the same size home in Yiyang, China?

Most owner-occupied homes in Yiyang pay no annual property tax. The main recurring cost is the property management fee, around ¥1.5 per square meter a month in newer complexes. For a 1,500 sq ft (about 139 m²) apartment that is about ¥2,500 a year, or roughly $370. Buyers pay a one-time deed tax of 1% for homes of 140 m² or less.

How much does an apartment in Yiyang cost to buy?

The median asking price of the ten apartment listings on YiyangFangchan in September 2026 was about ¥5,800 per square meter, which puts a 139 m² apartment at roughly ¥806,000, or about $120,000 at ¥6.71 to the dollar. Prices vary widely by complex, floor and condition.

Do homeowners in Yiyang buy home insurance?

Most do not. Home insurance is optional in China, and our agents in Yiyang say few owners buy it. Apartments there are reinforced-concrete buildings rather than wood-frame houses, the area has no wildfire exposure, and earthquake risk is low. The main natural risk is flooding near the Zi River, which mostly affects ground floors and basements, so check a building's location and floor before you buy.

Is comparing a US mortgage payment with Chinese costs fair?

Only partly. Part of every US mortgage payment is principal, which builds equity rather than being a pure cost, and most foreign buyers in China pay cash, so the money tied up in the purchase has an opportunity cost. The calculator shows yearly cash outflows and the up-front price separately so you can judge both.

Can Americans buy a home in Yiyang?

Foreign nationals who work or study in China can generally buy one home for their own use, subject to local rules. Foreign buyers usually cannot get a Chinese mortgage and pay in full. See our guide to buying property in China as a foreigner for the current process.

What costs does the calculator leave out?

It leaves out utilities, maintenance and repairs inside your home, closing and selling costs, price appreciation or decline, currency movements, and the one-time special maintenance fund deposit in China. It also assumes China does not introduce an annual property tax while you own the home.

China vs USA: The True Cost of Owning a Home

Home Ownership Cost Calculator

🇺🇸 US: yearly cost

🇨🇳 Yiyang: yearly cost

The Numbers Behind the Defaults

Read the Series

Americans Are Voting to Cut Property Taxes. Most Chinese Homeowners Don't Pay One.

China's "HOA" Costs $22 a Month. So Who Fixes the Roof?

Cost of Living in Yiyang, Line by Line

Why Buy, Not Rent, in Yiyang

What This Calculator Does — and Doesn't — Tell You

Want real numbers for a real apartment?

Link to This Calculator

Sources

FAQ

Run the Numbers on a Real Apartment