Annual cost of owning and maintaining average home stands at €16,169
THE cost of owning and maintaining a home in Ireland has risen by more than 3pc in the past 12 months.
Maintaining a home now costs €16,169.15 a year, or 43pc of the average national wage, according to latest figures.
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.
Home values increased from €215,000 in the third quarter of 2016 to €228,000 during the same period of this year.
Those who took out a 90pc mortgage this year are likely to pay €9,866.02 per annum – an increase of 4.48pc on last year.
AA Home Insurance issued the figures yesterday after making detailed calculations of the total cost of owning a house and subsequently running one.
The company looked at a range of household expenses.
Mortgage and property tax are calculated based on the current average property price.
“The big story for 2017 has been rising house prices and increased difficulty for those trying to get on the property ladder this year,” said Conor Faughnan, AA’s director of consumer affairs.
“For new buyers, the concern is that house prices are going up, especially in Dublin.
“However, one thing this piece of research does demonstrate is the effectiveness of shopping around.
“Across all the bills, you’ll see considerable variations between competitors. Spend a little time on the research and it can certainly save you money,” said Mr Faughnan.
Maintenance, repair and contingency funds are the second-biggest expense for Irish householders and have increased marginally by 0.5pc.
The average homeowner is likely to spend or set aside €1,246.83 each year in order to keep up with wear and tear.
They will spend €707.75 (up 2.3pc) on heating their home
this year and a further €857.81 (up 9.88pc) on electricity.
Other costs included in the AA Home Insurance study were: home insurance (building and contents combined) at €548; telephone and broadband bills at €469; household appliances at €574; cleaning products at €282, and domestic refuse collection at €304.