Last year we spent over £10.6 billion on moving home - and that's before we've actually bought the house. Almost half of this was spent on stamp duty, with £3.2 billion going to estate agents and just over £1 billion being spent on solicitors.
Andy Gray, head of mortgages at the Woolwich comments, "It is staggering to think that moving house costs us in excess of £10.6 billion with over half going on stamp duty, it's a lot of money, and it's grown partly because we're a different generation of movers and we're buying and selling houses more often - just ten years ago, in1994, we bought and sold around 1.3 million houses, today that's increased by another half a million**.
"The cost of moving could become a deterrent when looking to move home, especially when you consider that it's equates to around a quarter of the average UK salary**, before you even get in the door. That's not including any money you have to spend on redecorating, etc, when you get there. It's no wonder DIY is such a popular pastime."
The most active sectors in the market were perhaps unsurprisingly the £150,000 - £199,999 and the £200,000 - £299,999, prices brackets, accounting for 38 per cent of all sales (19 per cent for each group).
The survey revealed that moving fees vary significantly between the North and South of the UK. The average fees to move from a £150,000 home to one costing £200,000 are up three per cent*** across England and Wales but London buyers lose out paying over £6,000 compared to their counterparts in the North who pay an average £4,800. Buyers in East Anglia, South West and the South East also pay more than the national average with fees of around £5,900, £5,800 and £5,700 respectively, although it is worth noting that these costs have fallen marginally from last year.
Table showing differences in regions when upgrading from a home worth £150,000 to £200,000
Table 1
Region 2004 (£) 2005 (£) Average % change (+/-)
England and Wales 5377 5551 3.23
North West 5005 5059 1.07
Yorkshire and Humberside 4890 4885 -0.10
North 4714 4781 1.40
West Midlands 5179 5171 -0.15
East Midlands 5085 5197 2.16
Wales 5206 5119 -1.67
South East 5706 5685 -0.37
South West 5937 5776 -2.79
East Anglia 5860 5909 0.83
Greater London 6186 6190 0.06
The Woolwich offer the following tips when looking to move.
1. Homeowners need to factor in costs like legal fees and land registry searches when they are budgeting for a house move because our research shows just how the cost can mount up.
2. Movers should remember that they can negotiate on the costs of moving home, from the price of the property itself down to estate agents and solicitors fees.
3. Homeowners should shop around for their mortgages too because some providers offer additional benefits such as cash back or payment of legal fees, all of which can reduce how much we are spending on the cost of moving, leaving a little more cash to splash out on that new sofa.
