What Percentage of Home Inspections Find Problems?

Search this question and every result gives the same answer: 86 percent of home inspections find something. Almost none of them say where the number came from. This page does. It also puts the two datasets on what inspectors find side by side, because they disagree in a way that matters. It adds the numbers the reprints leave out: what the findings cost, how many buyers waive the inspection, and what an inspection is not designed to catch. The full 66-statistic reference, with every figure checked against its source, is our home inspection industry statistics page.

Where the 86 percent comes from

The statistic traces to one source. According to Porch's homebuyer inspection survey (2019) (porch.com), 998 homeowners were asked about their most recent purchase. Of the respondents who had an inspection performed, 86 percent said their inspector identified at least one problem. The sample was 818 single-family owners, 99 condo or townhouse owners and 81 apartment owners, from 48 states, with a median age of 37.

Three details change how you should read it. First, it measures memory, not paperwork. Buyers were asked what they recalled the inspector finding; no reports were read. Second, "at least one problem" is a low bar. A report that lists one loose downspout counts the same as a report that lists a failing roof. Third, the original page is gone. As of September 2026, Porch's own URL returns a 404, and the survey survives only in an archived copy first captured in December 2019 and in the sites that reprint it.

The same survey is the source of two other numbers that circulate as facts. According to the same Porch survey, respondents reported saving $14,000 on average on the final price by negotiating from their inspection. The "average home inspection costs $377" figure that Spectora's 2026 pricing guide (spectora.com) describes as "a separate industry analysis" also traces to it. All three are recollections from the same 998 people. None is a fee study or a report audit. Our research page lists every claim we traced and every one we could not, including that $377 figure.

What inspectors find most

Two datasets exist, and they measure different things. Porch asked buyers which systems their inspector flagged. Repair Pricer, which processes inspection reports, counted line items in the reports it processed. The first ranks big systems. The second ranks small, cheap fixes. Both are right about what they measured.

According to Inspection Support Network's reprint of the Porch survey percentages (2026) (inspectionsupport.com), the roof appeared on 19.7 percent of reports where a problem was found, electrical on 18.7 percent, windows on 18.4 percent, gutters on 16.9 percent and plumbing on 13.6 percent. Branches overhanging the roof (13.3 percent), fencing (12.6 percent), the water heater (12.2 percent) and driveways and walks (11.9 percent) follow. Air conditioning, exterior paint, foundation cracks, downspouts, grading and moisture each sit between 8.5 and 9.9 percent.

According to Repair Pricer's top-ten defects analysis of its last 15,000 inspection reports (2018) (repairpricer.com), the most common defect was missing exterior caulking and sealer, on 16.26 percent of homes (2,439 reports). Doors needing adjustment appeared on 15.47 percent, faucets needing service on 14.75 percent, outlets or switches with deficiencies on 14.00 percent and cosmetic drywall cracks or nail pops on 13.09 percent. Missing GFCI protection was found on 12.41 percent, light fixture or bulb deficiencies on 11.79 percent, smoke alarm issues on 10.62 percent, poor lot drainage on 10.50 percent and exposed nails or shingle deficiencies on 9.27 percent.

Repair Pricer published a larger study later. According to Repair Pricer's national home deficiencies report, described in a PR Newswire release (2021) (prnewswire.com), an analysis of 50,000 inspection reports on homes for sale in 2020 found more than one million repairs needed. That is an average of about $10,000 in repair cost per home. In that sample, almost half of homes did not have a functioning smoke alarm, more than a third lacked GFCI protection and almost half had drywall cracks.

One more finding does not show up in either table because it cuts across systems. According to InspectorPro Insurance's claims-avoidance guidance (2026) (inspectorproinsurance.com), a Florida inspector it quotes estimates that eight of every 10 homes he inspects has water intrusion or water damage issues. Water damage accounted for nearly half of claims against home inspectors in the past three years.

What the findings cost to fix

The gap between the two tables above is also a gap in dollars. A missing bead of caulk is a weekend job. A roof or an electrical panel is not. According to the National Association of Realtors' common inspection issues guidance, citing HomeAdvisor's 2023 cost data (nar.realtor), foundation repair averages $2,175 to $7,823 nationally, with minor cracks as low as $500 and extensive repairs at $10,000 or more. Rewiring a house averages $16,000 and replacing an electrical panel $2,400. Replacing plumbing supply pipes runs $1,500 to $15,000, an HVAC replacement $5,000 to $12,000, and installing gutters $624 to $1,705.

Buyers do use the findings. According to the Porch survey, in nearly half of cases where an inspection turned up problems, buyers and their agents bargained down the price. Heater problems cut the price by $1,250 on average and air conditioning problems by $500. The headline "$14,000 saved" needs the same caveat as the 86 percent: it is what buyers recalled, and the same respondents' average offer was $209,000 while their average closing price was roughly $3,400 above the offer. Repair Pricer's 2021 release puts individual defects in its 50,000-report sample anywhere from under $100 to more than $10,000 to fix.

How many buyers waive the inspection

Every figure above assumes an inspection happened. A meaningful share of buyers skip it. According to the National Association of Realtors' REALTORS Confidence Index (July 2026) (nar.realtor), 16 percent of buyers waived the inspection contingency that month, down from 20 percent a month earlier and 23 percent a year earlier. The survey went to a random sample of 75,000 Realtors and drew 3,612 responses. The same index put the share at 22 percent in March 2025, 21 percent in September 2025 (up from 17 percent in September 2024) and 18 percent in December 2025.

The pandemic market was the peak. According to Redfin's housing market reporting (2020) (redfin.com), 19.9 percent of winning offers submitted by Redfin agents in select major markets waived the inspection contingency in June 2020, up from 13.2 percent in June 2019. The share had hit 23.1 percent in March 2020 before dropping to 15 percent in April. One buyer-side survey lands lower. According to Clever Real Estate's survey of 986 recent buyers (2025) (listwithclever.com), 13 percent waived the inspection contingency as a concession to the seller, and 24 percent agreed to buy as-is without asking for repairs.

Regulators have started to notice. According to the National Association of Realtors' reporting on inspection-waiver legislation (2025), a Massachusetts rule in effect since October 15, 2025 bars sellers from conditioning acceptance of an offer on the buyer waiving, limiting or restricting a home inspection.

What an inspection does not do

"Found at least one problem" is not the same as "found every problem." The trade standards are explicit about the limits. According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors' Standards of Practice (nachi.org), a home inspection is a non-invasive, visual examination of the accessible areas of a residential property. The inspector is not required to move personal items or other obstructions, to dismantle, open or uncover any system or component, or to determine the service life expectancy of any component.

According to the American Society of Home Inspectors' Standard of Practice (homeinspector.org), the inspector is not required to determine methods, materials or costs of corrections. The inspector need not enter crawlspaces with less than 24 inches of vertical clearance or an access opening smaller than 16 by 24 inches. According to HUD's FHA homebuyer inspection notice, form HUD-92564-CN (2023) (hud.gov), FHA does not perform home inspections, and the appraisal a lender requires does not replace one.

The gap shows up in buyer regret and in claims. According to the Clever Real Estate survey, 1 in 8 recent buyers (12 percent) regret that their inspection missed problems, and 1 in 12 (8 percent) regret that they cannot afford the repairs. According to InspectorPro Insurance's top-five claims analysis (2026), the five most common claims against inspectors involve water damage, roof issues, foundation defects, plumbing problems and mold. Over 80 percent of the claims it receives are meritless, meaning the client blamed the inspector for something they should not have. The same analysis says claims professionals recommend keeping inspection records at least five years, whatever the local statute of limitations. Licensing is uneven too: a dozen states do not regulate home inspectors at all.

Documenting condition after the inspection

A purchase inspection is a snapshot on one day, by one person, of what was visible and accessible. It is a good baseline and a poor ongoing record. The moment the property becomes a rental, the condition question changes shape. It is no longer "what is wrong today." It becomes "what changed since the last time anyone looked, and who was there in between." That is the question a security deposit dispute, an insurance claim or a guest damage claim actually turns on, and the inspection report cannot answer it.

The InspectorPro five-year retention advice applies to owners as much as inspectors. Keep the report, then keep dated photos or video of every room at every handover, in the same order every time, so a later image can be compared to an earlier one. Our guides on security deposit documentation requirements by state and video versus photo rental inspections cover the mechanics. For operators running dozens of turnovers a week, RapidEye compares each new set of turnover photos or video against the property's own baseline and flags what changed, so the review happens even when nobody has time to look.

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