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When you’re buying a house, there are lots of extra costs you’ll need to pay for such as survey fees, conveyancing and stamp duty. Our cost of buying a house calculator estimates instantly how much these are likely to cost you.
In 2025, the average cost of buying a house is £8,108, based on an averagely priced property. These costs will vary depending on factors including the value of the property and whether you’re a first time buyer. Use our handy online cost of buying a house calculator to get an instant estimate of how much it may cost you. Being armed with the facts means you can factor this into your budget.
Based on buying an averagely priced property, the estimated cost to buy a house in 2025 can be broken down as follows.
| Costs of Buying a House | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Stamp duty | £4,600 |
| Building Survey | £650 |
| Conveyancing | £1,050 |
| Mortgage fees | £1000 |
| Mortgage valuation fees | £150 |
| Homebuyers Protection Insurance | £69 |
| Buying Total | £7,519 |
| General moving house costs | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Removals | £550 |
| Mail redirection | £39.50 |
| General moving costs total | £589.50 |
We’ve used our free tools including our stamp duty calculator to work out the above average cost. However, if you’re a first time buyer your costs may be less due to first time buyer stamp duty relief. Read on to get more accurate calculations and quotes for the costs of buying a house.
Here are the main costs to budget for when you are buying a house:
Stamp duty is something you can’t avoid. It’s charged by the UK government on property transactions and a real sting in the tail of your home move if you don’t budget for it. The stamp duty rate you pay depends on the price of your property, where the property is located and whether you’re a first time buyer or buying a second home.
In England and Northern Ireland, stamp duty applies on properties from £125,000. While first time buyers don’t pay any stamp duty on the first £300,000.
Stamp duty costs in England and Northern Ireland are as follows:
| Purchase price | Stamp duty rate | First time buyer stamp duty rate | Stamp duty rate additional property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 0% | 7% |
| £250,001 to £925,000 | 5% | 5% £300,000 to £500,000 (n/a over £500,000) | 10% |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% | not applicable | 15% |
| Over £1.5 million | 12% | not applicable | 17% |
Stamp duty must be paid within 14 days of completion and will usually be handled by your solicitor. Stamp duty costs are different in Scotland and Wales, find out more in our guide Stamp duty: Who pays it? When? And how much?
When you’re buying a house, it’s advisable to get a house survey. After all, this is the biggest financial outlay you’re likely to ever make so it makes sense to spend a few hundred pounds having an expert assess its condition. The cost of a house survey can range from £300 – £1500+ depending on depending on the type of survey you want, the property’s value and the property’s location.
But if you’re buying a house worth £250,000 to £350,000 a RICS Home Survey Level 2 will typically cost £600 to £700.
Here’s a summary of the costs to expect for the different types of house surveys:
| Level of Report | What it covers | Type of property | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| RICS Home Survey Level 1 (Condition Report) | Visible defects and condition rating, Issues needing urgent investigation | Standard properties, new homes | £300-£900 |
| RICS Home Survey Level 2 (Homebuyer Report) | Condition of property. Relative importance of problems. Advice on issues and repairs needed. | Standard properties in reasonable condition | £400-£1000 |
| RICS Home Survey Level 3 (Building Survey) | Full structural survey. In depth view of property condition. Estimate of costs for repairing defects | Older (50 years +) Properties that are larger, unusual or in poor condition | £630-£1500 |
But don’t rely on estimates when budgeting. You can get instant house survey quotes now on our site, connecting you with local chartered surveyors so you can compare quotes and speak to the surveyors directly about choosing the right survey for you.
Get instant house survey quotes from Chartered Surveyors in your area.
If you’re buying a new build home, you’ll want to get a snagging survey instead, which can identify problems ranging from small, cosmetic issues to significant, structural problems.
We recommend getting a Pre-Completion Inspection carried out before you complete on the new build house if your developer allows so that an initial snagging list can be compiled. But these can be limited so you may want to opt for a full snagging survey to be carried out as soon as you move in. New build snagging surveys typically cost from £300. Find out more in our guide Snagging lists for new builds explained.
A snagging survey is there to spot problems with your new build home. We can connect you with an independent on-site snagging inspector today.
When you’re buying a house you’ll need to pay conveyancing fees to make sure the legal side of your house purchase is handled properly.
Conveyancing solicitor fees are split into two parts:
Expect to pay around £300 more if you’re buying a leasehold property. For a detailed breakdown of costs, use our conveyancing fees calculator.
One of the best ways to save on costs is to shop around and compare conveyancing quotes. When comparing conveyancing quotes, ask if all these disbursements are included. And if not, whether they are likely to be required.
Get instant quotes from regulated and reviewed conveyancing solicitors that cover your area. Our customers save on average £490.
If you’re buying a house with a mortgage, the lender will commission a valuation survey to confirm the property’s value. This sin’t a survey report you will see, it is for the lender’s benefit. Mortgage valuation fees vary according to the value of the property and lenders will have their own fee scale. Mortgage valuations are sometimes offered for free as part of a mortgage deal. If not, typically valuation fees are around £100-£300.
Most mortgages come with up-front fees to be paid, adding significantly to the cost of buying a house. Mortgage arrangement fees are typically between £500 and £1,500 and you can usually choose between paying the arrangement fee upfront and adding it to the mortgage.
You may be able to avoid these fees if you can port your mortgage, which means taking your current mortgage deal with you to your new house. But not all mortgages are portable and even if yours is, it might not be the best overall deal for you. So speak to a fee-free mortgage broker. They’ll explain your options and you’ll be fully informed of any costs you you may need to pay.
You can view examples in our monthly round-up of the best mortgage rates and fees or look specifically at the best first time buyer mortgage deals on offer today.
Some mortgage brokers charge no fee, while others charge between a few hundred pounds up to 1% of your mortgage. We recommend you avoid this unnecessary and additional cost of buying a house. Opt for a fee-free mortgage broker to help you find the best mortgage deal, like the fee-free brokers at our award winning partners L&C.
Get fee free mortgage advice from our partners at L&C. Use the online mortgage finder or speak to an advisor today.
When you’re buying a house you’ll want to have peace of mind that the mortgage will be paid if you need time off work due to illness and injury or if you lose your job. Mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI) and income protection are both designed to help you pay your bills and stay in your home if you are unable to work. Different types of policies will cover you for accident, illness and unemployment or in some cases all three, but the costs and terms vary enormously.
But for example, a 30 year old man or woman working as an administrator with monthly mortgage payments of £750 may pay around £7 a month for mortgage payment protection insurance with accident and sickness cover.
With an estimated one in three property purchases falling through, homebuyer protection insurance can be a worthwhile investment because it helps cover some of your legal, survey and mortgage lending costs should your purchase fall through. You can get cover from just £69.
Cover for conveyancing, mortgage and survey costs, should your property purchase fall through.
Whether you’re buying a house or selling – or both – there are some general costs you’re likely to incur. The main costs are:
Removals costs will vary greatly depending on the size of your house, the amount of stuff you want moved and how far it needs to be transported.
However, our partners, Reallymoving.com, estimate the average removal covering 10 miles would cost:
| Size of property | Average moving cost |
|---|---|
| One or two bedroom house | £450-£550 |
| Three bedroom house | £800 |
| Four bedroom house | £1100 |
| Five bedroom house | £1400 |
The only way to get a definitive answer to how much removals cost is by getting quotes. Our removal costs calculator asks you to tap in the size of your property, your current post code and your new post code. You’ll then receive five quotes from regulated removal companies.
Compare home removal quotes today with our removal costs calculator.
When you change your address it’s important to inform companies of your new address. But you’ll also want to redirect your post for a period too.
Redirecting post costs are as follows:
You may also need to cover other costs when moving house such as:
Find a full list of everything you’ll need to do when you’re moving house in our Moving house checklist guide.
When you’re buying a house, you’ll also need to factor in your deposit. If you’re a first time buyer, you’ll need to save a deposit. While you can get a mortgage with a 5% deposit or even get a mortgage with no deposit, you’ll stand a better chance of being accepted and get access to better mortgage rates the bigger deposit you have.
Whereas if you are buying and selling at the same time, you’ll be able to use the equity from your first home to go towards your next home’s deposit.
It isn’t just the mortgage repayments you need to factor into your monthly budget, there are a number of other costs to take into account as well:
Buying a house is expensive because you have to pay things like mortgage fees and stamp duty, which can add thousands of pounds to the cost. On top of that you need to pay conveyancing fees and a house survey. So it’s important to budget, compare quotes and look at how you can save.
Average conveyancing fees when buying a house range from around £500-£1,150 plus disbursements. These disbursements – which are usually fees for third party services like local searches – could add up to £700 or even more to the solicitors fees.
HomeOwners Alliance Ltd is registered in England, company number 07861605. Information provided on HomeOwners Alliance is not intended as a recommendation or financial advice.
Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
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Independent Financial Adviser service is provided by Unbiased, who match you to a fully regulated, independent financial adviser, with no charge to you for the referral.
Bridging Loan and specialist lending service provided by Chartwell Funding Limited, registered office 5 Badminton Court, Station Road, Yate, Bristol, BS37 5HZ, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 458223). Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or any debt secured on it.
