'Cost of running a home rises 7%' in UK
08/03/2006 - 08:36:46The cost of owning and running a home in the UK rose by 7% in the last financial year - more than three times the rate of inflation, research revealed today.
Mortgage bank Halifax said the second consecutive annual increase above the rate of inflation meant that total costs of housing over the past three years have soared 14% – compared with a 4.6% rise in inflation.
Council tax bills and energy costs drove the increase and repesented a larger chunk of costs than mortgage interest payments.
The figures cover the year to the end of last March and do not include the recent round of gas, water and electricity bill rises.
Meanwhile, the Halifax said house prices increased by 1.4% in February – more than offsetting January’s fall.
