UK homeowners are having to dig deeper into their pockets than ever before to move up the housing ladder as the cost of moving home reaches record highs.
New data has revealed that the cost of moving home rose to an eyewatering £10,414 in 2019 – a two per cent increase on 2018 figures, while movers in London now pay an average of £24,585 to move home – almost 2.5 times the national average.
The biggest culprit is stamp duty which now makes up almost half (44 per cent) of moving costs or a whopping 65 per cent in London. Conveyancing fees, up five per cent on 2018 stats, join stamp duty as a key element driving up costs, according to reallymoving’s annual Cost of Moving research.
The home moving services comparison site analysed data from 990,000 quotes in the last year to reveal these latest record-breaking figures.
The research found that homeowners, who are both buying and selling, now pay on average £4,625 in stamp duty, based on the median property value, while conveyancing costs stand at £1,490 including disbursements & expenses, such as land registry fees. Removals charges have also increased by one per cent over the last year to an average of £480.
The average cost of an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) remains unchanged at £55, but other expenses have dipped slightly over the last year, such as a homebuyers report which now costs £408 (-4%) and estate agent fees £3,356 (-1%) as suppliers compete for business in a contracting market that has seen transaction levels fall 12.4 per cent year on year.
Tables showing annual change in moving costs for homeowners and First Time Buyers (FTBs)
| Homeowners | 2018 | 2019 | % change | FTBs | 2018 | 2019 | %
Change |
|
| Stamp Duty | £4,462 | £4,625 | 4% | Stamp Duty | £0 | £0 | 0% | |
| Estate Agent fees | £3,398 | £3,356 | -1% | Estate Agent fees | £0 | £0 | 0% | |
| Conveyancing | £1,416 | £1,490 | 5% | Conveyancing | £934 | £958 | 2.5% | |
| Survey | £424 | £408 | -4% | Survey | £372 | £366 | -2% | |
| Removals | £474 | £480 | 1% | Removals | £275 | £289 | 5% | |
| EPC | £55 | £55 | 0% | EPC | £0 | £0 | 0% | |
| Total | £10,230 | £10,414 | 2% | Total | £1,581 | £1,613 | 2% |
The North/South divide
Home movers in London face the greatest cost of moving, with the costs associated with buying and selling a home in the capital now at £24,585. The South East, East and South West also rank among the most expensive regions for movers, with the East and West Midlands sitting in the centre of the table and Northern Ireland and the North East the least expensive locations as a result of lower house prices, enabling greater fluidity in the housing market (see Graph 1 below).
Graph 1: Regional cost of moving for homeowners in 2019 (Source: reallymoving)
First-time buyers in London face greater challenge
Moving costs for first-time buyers across the UK are considerably lower at an average of £1,613, thanks to the exemption of stamp duty for first-time buyers on properties up the value of £300,000. A two per cent annual increase in overall costs has been driven mainly by marginal rises in removals and conveyancing fees. Yet higher house prices in London mean that first time buyers in the capital are typically paying £3,750 in stamp duty, bringing their overall costs to £5,684, 3.5 times the UK average.
Rob Houghton, CEO of reallymoving, said: “A marginal annual increase in house prices has led to higher stamp duty and conveyancing bills, meaning movers now have to find almost £10,500 which is a significant chunk of cash to raise from property equity or personal savings, on top of their deposit.
Stamp duty charges may be fixed, but it is possible to make savings on other costs such as conveyancing, surveys and removals by shopping around online for the best deals and comparing ratings and reviews, as well as price.”
