Halifax Reports a 17% Decline in Housing Costs

The data revealed as a result of the latest research undertaken by Halifax suggests that the cost of living and maintaining a property has declined almost by one fifth in one year. The average annual cost of running a home has fell from £8,766 to £7,298 in 2008 and 2009 respectively, which represents a 17% decline. At the moment, housing costs are said to account for 23% of an average income of a British citizens, which is 5% down from 28% in 2008. It should be noted that the cost of running a property has reached its lowest level ever since 2006. Experts are determined that the significant decline in housing costs can be explained by a decrease in mortgage interest payments, which amounted to as much as 47%. Statistics suggests that an average interest rate on a mortgage loan constitutes 3.62% this year, which compares to 5.8% in April 2008. However, mortgage interest payments were the only housing expense that experienced a decline; other expenses, including gas and electricity charges as well as routine maintenance, have risen dramatically by 7-13% over a year. One of the economists at Halifax, Mr. Suren Thiru claimed that despite these increase in maintenance costs, the fall in mortgage interest payments, which amounted to approximately 50%, has significantly eased the pressure on households during these hard times. He added that Londoners have enjoyed the most significant relief in terms of cut in housing costs, which constituted as much as 21%; at the same time, the cost of owning and running a home in London still remains higher than anywhere else in the UK. The residents of the South East have enjoyed the second biggest decline of 19%, followed by an 18% decline in the East of England. Both, Wales and Northern Ireland experienced the most insignificant decrease in housing costs of -13%.