HOMEBUYERS are paying an increasingly heavy price now that Britain has the oldest homes in the European Union.

Chairman of the New Homes Marketing Board, Mick Noble, said: “Buyers are paying a heavy price for Britain’s crumbling housing stock. Although the Energy Savings Trust has revealed that buyers spend an average £2,500 on unexpected repairs, the real costs are far higher.

“Recent surveys by leading DIY stores estimate average spending on DIY has now reached an annual average of £6,400 per home. This indicates that the costs of repairs and maintenance of an older home could reach £300,000 over the next 50 years.

“But the costs do not end there. Heating bills for the owners of older homes are typically between four and six times higher than those for modern homes. And that means the environment is paying a high price too in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.”

Crucially, the vast majority of this DIY spending is spent on home makeovers - kitchens, bathrooms and re-decoration - rather than on long-term structural improvement to the fabric of homes.

Noble added: “Britain’s answer to its housing crisis is, quite literally, to paper over the cracks. The surge of popular TV home makeover programmesis lulling the majority of homeowners into an unjustified sense of security.

"Buyers are increasingly turning to new homes as the reality of the time and costs involved in maintaining older housing becomes more widely known.”