Owners of period homes spend TWICE as much on maintenance, says Zoopla

Homeowners living in period properties spend an average of almost £700 a month on repairs and maintenance, according to new research from Zoopla.

The property portal revealed that owners of period homes spend more than twice as much on maintenance costs compared to non-period homes.

In total, it is estimated that homeowners shell out around £70,000 on average on repairs and maintenance over the entire time they stay in a given property.

Last week, Rightmove revealed the five most popular period property styles, with Victorian houses the favorite among house-hunters, closely followed by Georgians.

Tim Bannister, property expert at Rightmove, said: “Victorian homes remain particularly popular, characterized by their historic charm, solid construction and spacious interiors.”

More than a fifth of British homeowners live in period homes, according to Zoopla, which it defines as properties built before 1919.

However, Zoopla’s findings suggest that these types of houses come with high maintenance costs that may make people reconsider whether they are worth it.

The research revealed that since 2022, owners of period homes have spent an average of £19,213 to keep their property in good condition.

This is almost two and a half times the cost of non-period homes and equates to an average of £686 per month. This is on top of the current average monthly mortgage cost in the UK of £950.

Britain’s most popular style: Victorian properties, those built during the era of Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901, are the most popular period homes.

With an increasing number of mortgaged homeowners reaching the end of their cheapest fixed rate deals with each passing month, there will also be many who will see their monthly mortgage costs rise significantly, adding pressure along with mortgage costs. maintenance.

Zoopla says the drain on ongoing repair bills has caught many owners of period homes by surprise.

More than a fifth say they did not realize how much they would need to spend to maintain, repair and improve their property – or did not foresee any costs – before buying.

Two in five homeowners say the final cost was higher than they anticipated.

Among those who say the costs were higher than expected, a quarter say they regret the decision to buy a period property because of the costly maintenance.

However, the majority (almost three-quarters) say the costs are “worth it” and do not regret their purchase, showing that most consider period homes to be worth the extra money.

Daniel Copley, consumer expert at Zoopla, says: “There’s no denying that period properties have character and are of high quality, with many features that appeal to buyers, but require regular investment to keep them running.”

‘In fact, the average expense is almost the equivalent of an additional mortgage. Potential buyers should consider this when purchasing a home and whether they will be able to budget for this long-term maintenance.’

What is driving the cost?

Correcting external parts of your period home has accounted for the majority of costs incurred by homeowners since the beginning of 2022.

Outside maintenance includes things like repainting, replacing windows, roof problems, sinkholes, structural problems like leaning chimneys, cracks in brick, garden maintenance, and repairing clogged or blocked gutters.

Zoopla found that the average period home owner has spent £12,865 on this since the start of 2022.

This is more than three times the external maintenance costs incurred by homeowners with properties built since 1919.

According to Zoopla, owners of non-period homes spent an average of £4,314 on external maintenance in the same period.

Exterior Repairs: Homeowners of the era are reportedly spending more than three times as much as other households to keep the exterior in good condition.

Meanwhile, over the last two and a half years, homeowners have spent £6,348 on internal maintenance costs such as flooring, bathrooms, electricity, mold removal, insulation improvement and wiring and electrical repairs. This compares to £4,182 for those in non-period homes.

In total, Zoopla found that period home owners have spent an average of £68,289 since purchasing their home, having owned it for an average of 16.8 years.

By comparison, non-period homeowners have spent an average of £39,970 on their home since purchasing it, over the course of an average of 13.4 years of living in their property.

Is a period property worth worrying about?

Despite the potentially high maintenance costs, most owners of period homes find it worth it.

More than half of homeowners say period homes have more character, 44 per cent say they are built to last and 45 per cent love the architectural style and how they look from the outside.

The garden won over more than 42 percent of visitors and a third liked not being able to hear their next-door neighbors due to the thicker walls, and vice versa.

The original features were the favorite of a third of those surveyed and the design, of two in five.

However, Zoopla’s Daniel Copley believes homebuyers should seriously consider alternatives to period homes.

“Our research shows that non-period and new-build homes are considerably less expensive to maintain and are worth considering when buying a home,” he says.

“There are many options when it comes to era and style of home, and there are many high-quality homes on the market that will require less investment in maintenance.”