Brits spending more on home maintenance than 'bling'

Brits are less interested in spending on luxury decor and bling for their home than they are parting their hard-earned cash with boring but essential maintenance.

According to research from the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings SPAB conducted for National Maintenance Week 2011, people rated spending on 'fun' desirable interior features like decor and sparkling new kitchens and bathrooms lower than basic household maintenance, with 26 per cent and 58 per cent respectively.

Furthermore, 49 per cent of people disagreed with the statement "I often buy or do things I probably shouldn't, just to treat myself", while over a quarter claimed that they were making regular deposits into savings in a bid to build up a healthy nest egg earning the best interest rates.

In addition, 58 per cent claimed that if their home is well-maintained it will have a good impact on the value of their property, so it is well worth doing.

"We were fascinated by the results. Not surprisingly, a new spirit of austerity is abroad. After years when many homeowners seemed to value style over substance it is apparent that the 'bling' days of spending on highly visible home 'improvements' like state of the art kitchens and bathrooms are behind us with more of us making sober, serious decisions about where our money really counts," said Philip Venning, SPAB's secretary.

However, a new HSBC study revealed that some 360,000 homeowners are trapped in their first homes as their equity has been worn away by falls in house prices since 2007.

It suggested that many people who bought their first homes in the last few years are now finding they do not have the money to upgrade to their second home due to house prices falling an average of seven per cent, although this is much worse in Northern Ireland where values have dropped by 42 per cent since 2007. 

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2011-11-18 13:02:50 © Moneyextra.com