Survey: House moving costs up 225 percent in a decade

According to a new survey from Propertyfinder, it will cost you an average of 225 percent more to move house in the UK now than it did ten years ago. The exact amount will vary depending on where in the UK you have bought your new home, but on average the cost of moving house now stands at around £9,500, according to the website. The highest cost of moving comes in London, where it will cost around £16,242, a gain of 366 percent over a decade ago. The smallest hike in moving costs came in the North West, at 131 percent, for an average cost of £6,510.

The biggest cost in moving home comes from stamp duties, which have gone up to an average of £5,481, a rise of 527 percent in a decade. In London, the average stamp duty now comes to £11,766, and even in the North West the average stands at £2,033. A decade ago, the average for England and Wales was just £679, when the stamp duty was at 1 percent on properties sold for over £60,000, and many buyers did not have to pay at all, as the average house price in 1996 was at £64,441, compared to current averages that stand at over £200,000. Other costs include lawyers fees, agents fees, and removal costs.

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