A recent study looking into the amount that homeowners spend on a new property has found that on average homeowners spend &10,743 within the first five years of moving into their new home.
This survey was conducted by Furniture Choice, surveying 1,000 homeowners and looked into the most common purchases for a new home and the average cost each of these items or upgrades.
According to responses, new homeowners spend just over &2,000 on basic furniture such as sofas (costing an average of &669), Beds (&381), wardrobes (&314) and dining sets (&308) meaning buyers need a little bit more than a deposit to get started.
The kitchen also appeared to be quite costly, as homeowners spent just over &1000 on white goods and cooking appliances.
It can be quite common for homeowners to run into unexpected costs such as faulty plumbing and electricals within the first few years in a new home also. These issues along with other general repairs came in at an average cost of &3,500 according to responses.
While some buyers are prepared to get stuck into a fixer-upper, some survey participants revealed that they still had to put some cash into upgrading a recently renovated home.
Survey participant India Benjamin, spent close to &2,000 fixing unexpected faults, showing that buyers need to be thorough when viewing a home and fully understand the costs involved. “The house was newly renovated when I bought it, but only on the surface. I had to replace the boiler within six months of buying the house; apparently, it was nearly ten years old, despite being in a brand new cupboard, and I’ve been advised my whole toilet cistern needs replacing.” Said Benjamin.
Furniture Choice's Tom Obbard, spoke on the findings of the survey, stating that “Buying a new property is stressful enough as it is, so it’s vital that potential buyers are aware that solely saving for a deposit isn’t enough anymore, especially when it comes to first time buyers."
“Budgeting for furniture can begin before you even look for a house; starting a Pinterest board or even a spreadsheet to get an idea of cost, as well as style, can really help to give an indication of how much you will need to save. Stick to the basics at first; a bed, sofa, and dining sets are always good to start with. Smaller items can be bought gradually if you’re on a tight budget."
“Some costs, such as repairing hidden damage, can’t be foreseen, but having an emergency buffer in place will help to limit any financial strain these problems have”.
