Average cost to move house: £10,255

The cost of moving house isn’t cheap. In 2024, you can look at paying £10,255 in costs, based on buying and selling an averagely priced house in the UK of £292,000. These costs can be higher or lower depending on where you live, the value of your property, and some of the choices you make.

What you’ll pay when you move house

Whether this is your first time buying a home or your tenth house move, it’s a good idea to pull together a list of the associated costs to move house.

Based on buying and selling an averagely priced property, the estimated cost to move house in 2024 can be broken down as follows:

Costs of Buying a House	Estimate
Stamp duty	£2,100
Building Survey	£550
Conveyancing	£1,050
Mortgage fees	£1000
Mortgage valuation fees	£150
Homebuyers Protection Insurance	£60
Buying Total	£4,910

Costs of Selling a House	Estimate
Estate Agents	£4,150
Conveyancing	£585
Energy Performance Certificates	£60
Removals	£550
Selling Total	£5,345

Total average cost to move house in 2024 is £10,255

Read on to get more accurate calculations and quotes for the costs of buying, selling and moving home.

Costs to Move House Explained

Here are typical costs to budget for when you are buying a house or buying and selling at the same time:

1. Stamp duty

Stamp Duty can be one of the biggest moving costs you’ll pay as a buyer. Note that if you’re moving house in England and Northern Ireland, you will not have to pay Stamp Duty on the first £250,000 of a property’s purchase price. While first time buyers don’t pay any stamp duty on the first £425,000.

Stamp duty costs are as follows:

Purchase price	Stamp duty rate	First time buyer stamp duty rate	Stamp duty rate additional property
Up to £250,000	0%	0% up to £425,000	3%
£250,001 to £925,000	5%	5% £425,000 to £625,000	8%
£925,001 to £1.5 million	10%	not applicable	13%
Over £1.5 million	12%	not applicable	15%

The 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.

Stamp duty must be paid within 30 days of completion and will usually be handled by your solicitor. 

Example calculation: If you’re buying a house in England or Northern Ireland at the average UK house price of £292,000 you’ll pay a stamp duty bill of £2,100.

However, if you’re a first time buyer purchasing a house of this value, your stamp duty bill will be zero. And, if this is an additional property you’ll pay £10,860.

Find out how much stamp duty you’ll pay by using our stamp duty calculator.

2. House survey costs

The cost of a house survey can range from £300 - £1500+. A house survey is a detailed inspection by a surveyor of the condition of a property. House survey costs vary depending on the type of survey you want, the property’s value and the property’s location.  We’ve listed the range of fees to expect for the different types of 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

For a house worth £250,000 to £350,000 a house survey will typically cost £500 to £900.

But why rely on estimates? 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.

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3. Deposit

When you’re buying a house, a deposit of 10% of the property value is usually paid on exchange of contracts. 

This is usually the biggest hurdle for first time buyers wanting to get on the housing ladder. 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.

If you are moving house, so 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. If your new house is a lot more expensive than your current one, it’s likely that the deposit required on exchange will be more than the deposit you receive from your buyers. Your solicitor may be able to agree with your seller’s solicitor that the smaller deposit will be enough. But if this isn’t possible you’ll need to make up the difference.

4. Mortgage costs

Most mortgages come with up-front fees to be paid, adding significantly to the cost of moving house, usually anything between £999 and £1,999. 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.

Mortgage valuation survey costs

If you take out a new mortgage, the lender will commission a valuation survey to confirm the property’s value. Mortgage valuation fees vary according to the value of the property and lenders will have their own fee scale. Typically valuation fees are around £100-£300.

Mortgage arrangement fees

When you move you may be able to port your mortgage. But if you need to take out a new mortgage there may be fees to pay. Mortgage arrangement fees are often charged by lenders and can be up to £1000 or even more. You can usually choose between paying the arrangement fee upfront and adding it to the mortgage.

If by moving house you’ll need to leave your current mortgage deal early you may need to pay an early repayment charge. And these can amount to thousands of pounds. Whenever it comes to mortgages it’s always a good idea to speak to a fee-free mortgage broker. They’ll explain your options and you’ll be fully informed of any costs you’ll need to pay.

Mortgage broker fees

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.

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Mortgage protection insurance

When you move into your 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. Get an instant quote from our partners at Assured Futures.

5. Conveyancing solicitor fees

When you’re buying a house you’ll need to factor in your solicitor or conveyancing fees to ensure the legal side of a house purchase or sale is handled properly.

Conveyancing solicitor fees can be split into two parts:

• The legal fees: This is what the conveyancer or solicitor charges for doing the work
• The disbursements: Third party charges for certain services like searches.

If you’re buying, conveyancing legal fees cost between £300 and £1,500 and are usually linked to the value of a property. You’ll also pay for disbursements which could cost up to £700. Add around £300 if the property is leasehold. For a detailed breakdown of costs, use our conveyancing fees calculator.

If you’re selling expect to pay between £600 and £800 in legal fees. Again, expect to pay more if it’s leasehold. Also if you’re selling and need to supply your buyer with a Leasehold Management Pack, you’ll need to pay more for this too. The cost for this can vary significantly from £300 to as much as £800. One of the best ways to save on fees 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.

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Home Buyer Protection Insurance

With an estimated one in three property purchases falling through, homebuyer protection insurance can be a worthwhile investment. It helps cover some of your legal, survey and mortgage lending costs should your purchase fall through. You can get cover from just £60.

Cost of selling a house

1. Getting your house sale-ready

You may want to consider basic home improvements in order to increase the desirability of your property or to facilitate a speedier sale. The cost of repairs and improvements will vary according to the work needed. But you might find some low-cost improvements make a big difference. See our guide How to make your home more valuable and saleable.If your home needs decluttering,, consider using a household rubbish removal service.

2. Energy Performance Certificate costs

By law you must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for your property before you sell it. Your EPC rates your house according to how energy efficient it is (with A being the highest and G the lowest).

Energy Performance Certificates cost between £60 and £120 depending on your local assessor’s prices.

You can arrange an EPC via your estate agent but this can be more expensive. So shop around for quotes. Compare quotes from qualified local energy assessors near you now.

3. Estate agent fees

If you’re selling, estate agent fees may be your biggest cost of moving house. Typically you’ll pay 1.42% including VAT. So on the UK average house price of £292,000 this would mean estate agent fees of around £4,150. 

Online estate agents have lower fixed fees ranging from £0-£1200.

Estate agent fee calculator

Use our calculator to work out how much commission you’ll pay your estate agent. Adjust the commission rate and use the slider to select your estimated sale price. Compare to ‘fixed fee’ agents like Purple Bricks or set the ‘fixed fee’ to zero to see the commission you would pay.

How to save on estate agent fees

If you want to save on selling costs it’s important to compare estate agents fees and services. While comparing fees is important to make sure you don’t pay over the odds, you should also compare estate agents on their performance. Paying more in estate agent fees can be money well spent if they achieve a higher price.

So when you’re looking to find the best estate agent look at their success rate in selling and how good they are at achieving the asking price.

The quickest way to do this is to use our Find an Estate Agent tool. Enter a few details about your house and you’ll instantly see estate agents in your local area ranked by their success rate, the average days they take to sell and the sale price achieved as a percentage of asking price. 

Find and compare local estate agents with our free tool: compare typical fees, success rate, speed of sale and track-record achieving asking price

4. Removals

Moving day can be hugely stressful. However you can reduce that stress by booking a removals company early in the process.

The cost of removals 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.

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.

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5. Redirecting post cost

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:

• £34 for 3 months
• £48 for 6 months
• £69 for 12 months

6. Other moving costs

Storage – If there’s a gap between handing over your keys and moving into your new home you may need to pay to store your belongings. Storage fees vary but can reach £25-£100 a week.

Packing materials – If you have to pay for packing boxes and bubble wrap this could add on up to £100.

Costs of owning a home

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:

• Utility bills
• Council tax
• Buildings and contents insurance
• Ground rent & service charge
• Residents’ parking
• Maintenance and building work
• Television, broadband and telephone

After you’ve moved in there will be other costs, from buying furniture and white goods to redecorating the property to your tastes.