Moving costs at record £12k

RISING stamp duty and estate agency fees have driven up the cost of moving home to record levels, research reveals.

The price of moving reached £12,110 after costs increased by £486 over the past year, according to Lloyds Bank. In London, the cost is now £34,000.

House price growth has pushed up stamp duty and estate agents’ fees. More than half the increase in costs was down to stamp duty, which rose 13 per cent this year to £3,262. The average estate agent’s bill is now £5,729, up 3 per cent.

Since 2008, moving costs soared 92 per cent in the South East, from £11,589 to £22,200. In the East Midlands they were up 59 per cent, from £6,097 to £9,675, and in London they rose from £20,584 in 2008 to £33,741.