Moving home costs triple

Moving home costs have tripled in the last ten years from an average of £2,925 in 1996 to £9,486 in 2006.

That is according to a study from Propertyfinder.com out today, which reveals the sharp increase in the cost of moving is mostly due to stamp duty, which is almost ten times what it was in 1996.

Just over a decade ago Brits moving home paid an average of £376 for removals, £857 for legal fees, £1,257 for estate agent fees and £543 for stamp duty land tax.

In 2006 this rose to average costs of £450 for removals, £1,000 for legal fees, £3,027 for estate agent fees, and £5,009 for stamp duty.

"On top of rapid house price inflation, home sellers have to contend with the soaring costs of moving home. The largest factor is stamp duty, which now accounts for over half of moving costs on the average home and has risen almost tenfold in ten years," commented Warren Bright, Propertyfinder chief executive.

Propertyfinder calculates the big increase in moving costs are inflating mortgage repayments, adding an average of around £700 per year.

"The high cost of moving home has definitely contributed to the current supply shortage in the housing market. In the past, when costs were low, there was little to prevent people from making a number of small steps up the housing ladder. Now that transaction costs, especially stamp duty, are prohibitive, people are more reluctant to move, or are making fewer, bigger jumps up the ladder," Mr Bright concluded.