How much maintenance per annum is normal?

Thanks for posting this.....made me collate all of the repairs since 2008 into a new spreadsheet tab and have a brand spanking new report spreadsheet across all of the properties

Results are as follows:
$1621 annual average repairs for all properties ($351,$687,$582) which equates to 0.43% of property sale price (obviously if you based percentage on current value would actually be far lower due to capital value increases).

Obviously we haven't done any major renovations (have at least 2 bathrooms and 1 kitchen scheduled for the next 4-10 years) and this doesn't take into account strata fees as these are all strata units.

But basically I think you could say 1% pa is about right on the money..........which is depressing when you realize rent after expenses is 2.85% average so actually only making 1.85% return (excluding capital returns and as the tenants actually pay all of the mortgage with rent I guess isn't too bad eg 7% LTA +1.85%) but S&P was 6.85%+Divs - CAGR of the Stock Market: Annualized Returns of the S&P 500

 

Average 4k a year each house over longer term
Anyone spending less than 1k a year will be in for a shock at some point, probably your house is new but it won't be for long.

 

Not necessarily... mine is low cause my dad is amazingly handy.. I can avoid trades and often can source materials from the shed. E.g needed w new baffle plate in IP2.. he welded one up for me on the weeked. I cooked dinner and will shout a steak dinner next week.

Bar a hot water cylinder dying it will mostly be affordable repairs.

 

The Square Foot Rule
Another rule of thumb says that you should budget $1 per square foot per year for home maintenance and repair costs. If you own a 2,000 square foot home, for example, budget $2,000 a year for maintenance and repairs.

This rule of thumb makes slightly more sense than the “1 percent of purchase price” rule.

The more square feet you’re managing, the more you’ll need to spend.

One drawback to this rule, though, is that it doesn’t account for labor and material costs in your area. In certain parts of the nation, contractors are significantly more expensive.

 

We have averaged 0.8% - 1% over the past few years, using latest bank valuation for property price.

Does anyone know why the 'common' measure is against the property price rather than a % of rent for example?

Could it be down to the fact it is a known value when purchasing a property whilst rent is not always known, so is common measure when looking at the future performance of your property compared to the original business case.

 

I agree with you
Per m2 is by far the best calculation base