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Home improvement spending rises as mortgage payments fall
15/11/10
Edited by Bob Witham.Britons are spending more on home improvements, alterations and repairs than they were in 2008, according to new research.
Sainsbury's Home Insurance said the average overall cost of running a UK household has fallen by 13.6 per cent in the past two years.
This is mainly down to a 27.6 per cent drop in mortgage repayments due to the base rate being pegged at an all-time low of 0.5 per cent.
The company noted home loans typically account for around 43 per cent of all household expenditure.
Alongside the decline in mortgage costs, there has also been a fall in utility bills, with gas and electricity prices falling by 9.01 per cent and 5.91 per cent respectively since 2008.
This appears to have freed up money for investing in residential property, as annual home improvement and alteration costs have climbed by 5.82 per cent over the same period to reach £1,216.
Meanwhile, typical expenditure on maintenance work and repairs has risen to £396, also up 5.82 per cent on 2008.
Separate research from Halifax shows 56 per cent of households carried out a home improvement project in the 12 months to June, spending an average of £6,362.
