Home-moving costs set to hit record high after Stamp Duty changes – warning
The process of buying and selling a home in 2024 now costs almost £14,000 in upfront expenses and is set to rise further to record high, research suggests.
Taking into account Stamp Duty, conveyancing, estate agent fees, a Level 2 Homebuyer survey, an EPC and removals costs, comparison site reallymoving has analysed data from almost 140,000 quotes to determine the typical cost of moving home in 2024.
Reallymoving estimates that someone selling and buying a property is now paying £13,978 but it warns there is a limited window of opportunity before the cost of moving rises by another £2,500 to record high of £16,478 once Stamp Duty thresholds drop in April.
From April, the Stamp Duty threshold for someone buying their next home will drop from £250,000 to £125,000. Based on the median purchase price in England, the average stamp duty bill will jump by £2,500 from £6,250 to £8,750, pushing the total cost of moving to a new record high of £16,478.
Movers in the North-East and Northern Ireland, who currently benefit from paying no Stamp Duty at all based on the median purchase price, will be forced to pay £2,400 and £2,500 respectively when the lower threshold is restored.
First-time buyer Stamp Duty relief will also fall from £425,000 to £300,000 and the proportion of purchasers paying the tax will more than double from 17% currently to 39%, the comparison website said.
There is a clear north-south divide in the cost of moving home, driven largely by the gulf between median house prices across the country, reallymoving said.
Movers in the North-East of England pay the least, with a home move costing £5,492 – less than one fifth of the cost of moving home in London.
In comparison, movers in London must fork out £30,048 on average, due to higher house prices which drive up Stamp Duty bills and estate agent fees.
London is the only location where, based on their average purchase price, first-time Buyers will be forced to pay Stamp Duty again from next April, meaning they need to find an additional £6,250 on top of their current £2,552 bill for buying a home, according to the research.
With the cost of many home mover services tied to house prices, a 3% fall in the median sale price and a 1.3% fall in the median purchase price in 2024 means estate agent fees, conveyancing fees, a survey and Stamp Duty bills are all lower than last year, when the total cost of moving home was £14,458, reallymoving said.
As providers have competed for business in a slow market, moving costs have also failed to rise with inflation, meaning in real terms a home move this year costs £1,087 less than in 2023.
Rob Houghton, chief executive of reallymoving, said:
“Raising almost £14,000 to finance a home move is a major challenge for many people, especially with the cost of living so high making it even harder to save.
“We’ve seen an increase in the proportion of first-time buyer activity in the past few weeks as people accelerate plans to move to take advantage of lower stamp duty bills before they rise next spring, but the window will be too tight for many, so it’s wise to budget for higher stamp duty costs just in case.
“Our data shows that the fewest home moves take place during January and February, but bear in mind that the New Year and early spring may well be busier in 2025 as people rush to beat the stamp duty deadline.
“Always shop around to secure the best deals for conveyancing, surveying and removals, paying close attention to reviews as well as price.
“Over the next few months, it will be even more important to have a reliable and responsive conveyancer who will progress your transaction quickly and efficiently.”
Kindly shared by Estate Agent Today
