Cost Of Running Family Home Is Up 3% – AA Ireland

The annual cost of owning and maintaining a family home has risen by over 3% in the last 12 months to €16,169.15 – equating to about 43% of the current average Irish national wage, according to figures issued today by AA Home Insurance.

The AA carries out a detailed calculation each year which looks at the total cost of owning a house and subsequently running one in Ireland. Mortgage and property tax are calculated based on the current average property price. All other expenditure – from broadband to heating, to the cost of domestic appliances – is researched and calculated according to prices as of October 2017.

The increase in the cost of running a home comes following a rise in the national average price of a second hand home in Ireland. Values increased from €215,000 during the third quarter of last year to €228,000 in the third quarter of this year.

Those who took out a 90 percent mortgage this year are likely to pay €9,866.02 per annum – an increase of 4.48% on last year.

“The big story for 2017 has been rising house prices and increased difficulty for those trying to get on the property ladder this year. However, for those fortunate enough to already own a home 2017 hasn’t seen any major increases across the range of bills an average homeowner will face,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “For new buyers the concern is that house prices are going up, especially in Dublin. However, one thing this piece of research does demonstate is the effectiveness of shopping around. Across all the bills we factor into this study you’ll see considerable variations between competitors. Spend a little time on the research and it can certainly save you money.”

While the AA bases its calculations on those of a new buyer, there is also the ‘negative equity generation’ – homeowners who bought their house at the peak of the boom. The AA gives figures for that group too, assuming the house is bought in 2007. That group currently pays €5,172.74 more on their mortgage repayments than their counterparts who purchased their homes in the second quarter of this year.

Maintenance, repair and contingency funds is the second single most expensive bill for Irish householders and has increased marginally by 0.5%. The AA estimates that the average homeowner is likely to spend or set aside €1,246.83 each year to keep up with wear and tear. This figure equates to almost 8 percent of the overall estimated cost of owning and running a home.

Taking annual average usage figures of 11,000 kWh and 4,200 kWh for a three or four bedroom detached house respectively, the AA estimates that the average homeowner will spend €707.75 (+2.3% percent) heating their home this year and a further €857.81 (+9.88 percent) on electricity.

“Across all the factors that the AA measured home heating costs saw the largest jump, an unfortunate piece of news for homeowners as we move into the winter season,” Faughnan added. “However, when you weigh up every cost a homeowner faces there has only been a relatively modest increase this year but unfortunately this largely applied to the post-purchasing costs. Getting a foot in the front door remains a challenge for many as a result of continued increases in house prices.”

Among the variables that remained the same as or close to last year were television licence costs at €160, property tax at €405, and AA Home Membership at €125.88.

Other costs included in the AA Home Insurance study were: i) home insurance (building and contents combined) which is calculated at about €547.81, ii) telephone and broadband bills at €468.66, iii) household appliances at €573.82, iv) household cleaning products at€281.85, v) domestic refuse collection at €304.51.