Huge cost of moving house revealed

The average household is said to pay out £9,580 during the big move.

The main costs incurred by those relocating to another property include conveyancing, surveying, estate-agent fees, Stamp Duty and hiring a removal van.

The “extortionate prices” hitting families under strain are highlighted in the research by experts at Compare My Move.

By far the most expensive cost when moving house is estate-agent fees.

UK home sellers paid out a huge £3,996,165,794 in these fees in 2017, the study found.

The cost of moving was found to vary wildly across Britain.

Not surprisingly, London homeowners spent the highest on these extras costs, averaging £28,714 to move house.

The average cost of moving in England is £10,465. Scotland and Wales have lower hidden moving costs on average, at £6,032 and £6,246, respectively.

Of all the UK, the North East has the lowest cost of moving house at £5,058 on average, followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (£6,141).

Russel Quirk, CEO of online property platform Emoov, said that even though house prices are rising, the increased cost of moving is hard to justify.

“These latest estimates really do highlight the extortionate price charged by the high-street sector and how it accounts for the largest amount of financial strain during an already stressful time,” he said.

“It simply doesn’t make sense that as house prices continue to rise high-street agents see the money they make rise with it, despite doing very little and nothing more to justify it.”

Although there have been amendments to the Stamp Duty fees with first-time buyers in mind, the average first-time buyer must still pay £1,561 in these additional costs.

On top of this, some regions have seen little or no impact. Both the North East and Scotland have seen no benefit from the Stamp Duty cut because of the already low property values.

In the South East of England, the cost of moving dropped by 64 per cent once this fee was removed for properties under £300,000.