£12k bill to move home
HOMEBUYERS pay an average of £12,110 to move amid rising stamp duty bills, one of the UK’s largest mortgage lenders said.
Stamp duty, estate agent fees, conveyancing and removals costs have shot up by £486 in just one year and £2,890 since 2008, when it was £9,220.
More than half the increase in moving bills is down to stamp duty costs, Lloyds Bank said.
London continues to be the priciest place to move house, with an average cost of £33,741 representing an increase of £1,649 on last year.
This total - nearly three times the UK average - is driven by the cost of stamp duty, Lloyds said.
Northern Ireland has the lowest average moving cost, at £6,156.
Lloyds’ Andrew Mason said: “It’s important to consider the full costs involved when going through the home moving process.”
The calculations on moving costs used figures from a range of sources including Halifax and the Office for National Statistics.
Here is how the average moving cost varies across the UK, according to Lloyds Bank:
• West Midlands, £10,893
• East Anglia, £13,598
• London, £33,741
• South East, £22,200
• Scotland, £6,171
• East Midlands, £9,675
• Yorkshire and the Humber, £7,760
• North West, £8,190
• Northern Ireland, £6,156
• North East, £6,437
• South West, £12,894
• Wales, £6,955