Lloyds Bank has revealed that the average cost of moving home in the UK has risen by £628 over the past year to £11,624 (from £10,996).
This 6% rise comes at a time when the annual growth in average earnings is at 2% and consumer price index inflation is up 3%.
Lloyds said rising house prices have been the main factor behind the increase in moving costs, pushing up estate agency fees, stamp duty and conveyancing fees as all three are typically linked to the purchase price.
Over half of the increase in average moving costs in 2017 has been due to stamp duty costs, which have risen by £393 (16%) to £2,897. Estate agency fees have risen by £167 (3%) to £5,571 and legal costs are up by £39 (3%) to an average of £1,290.
The national average cost of moving home (£11,624), however, disguises significant regional differences with the average moving costs in the South West increasing by £2,345 (21%) over the past year – four times the national increase of £628. Moving costs in East Anglia have risen by £1,936 (18%).
Meanwhile, costs have fallen in the North East (-8%), Scotland (-8%) and Yorkshire & the Humber (-1%). This largely reflects property price differences in these areas compared to the rest of the UK.
Andrew Mason, mortgages product director at Lloyds Bank, said: “The cost involved when moving home has continued to rise over the past year, making it even more difficult. Those looking to move in London are facing a considerable challenge with the cost involved being nearly three times the national average.
“The combination of both higher property prices and the rapid increase in those prices in recent years results in significantly higher moving costs.”
The average moving cost in London is £32,092 – nearly three times the UK average. The average homemover in the capital pays just under £16,000 in stamp duty and over £11,000 in estate agency fees. The higher level of stamp duty compared with estate agency fees contrasts with the national average where estate agency fees exceed stamp duty.
The cost of moving in the capital equates to a substantially higher proportion of annual gross earnings than nationally: 73% against 34%.
The South East is the second most expensive region for moving with an average cost of £21,373.
Northern Ireland has the lowest moving costs, at £6,131 (20% of annual average earnings), whilst moving costs are between £6,418 and £8,092 in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North East, Scotland, the North West and Wales.
The total cost of moving in the UK has increased by £2,029 (21%) in the past 10 years from £9,595 in 2007 to £11,624 today. This is slightly greater than the percentage growth in average house prices over the decade (16%) and average gross annual earnings (17%). As a result, the total cost of moving has risen to 34% as a percentage of gross annual earnings in the past 10 years.
There have been once again substantial regional differences in moving cost trends. London has seen the highest rise in the cost of moving over the last decade, with a £10,255 (47%) increase from £21,837 to £32,092. This rise is substantially higher than in any other region with a £3,717 increase in East Anglia being the next highest.
However, moving costs in Northern Ireland have fallen by £5,382 (-47%) from £11,513 in 2007 to £6,131 in 2017 due to the dramatic decline in house prices in the country following the onset of the financial crisis in 2007. Moving costs in the North East (-17%), Scotland (-12%) and Wales (-5%) are also lower than a decade ago.