The cost of moving home in England has increased by 27 per cent in the past year, data shows.

People buying and selling property across England now have to fork out around £17,831 in upfront expenses, up from closer to £14,000 a year ago. 

Average stamp duty costs for buyers, excluding first-time buyers reached £9,750 in England this year, and were the main driver in the upturn in moving costs, according to price comparison website Reallymoving.

On 1 April, the zero per cent stamp duty threshold dropped back to its previous level of £125,000, while the threshold for first-time buyers reverted to £300,000. 

A radical overhaul of Britain's property taxation system is expected in the Autumn Budget on 26 November. 

Among other measures, it could cut the cost of moving by making stamp duty an annual tax, rather than being paid in one go on purchasing a home. This would only apply to homes worth less than £500,000 under the reported plans. 

This could see the cost of moving plummet to £8,801, based on a median purchase price of £325,000, Reallymoving said. 

How much does it cost to move where YOU live?

Buyers and sellers are responsible for different fees. Buyers, for example, are responsible for stamp duty and survey costs, while sellers deal with estate agency fees. 

Reallymoving analysed data from quotes generated for 181,000 home movers, factoring in stamp duty, estate agency fees, survey costs, conveyancing fees, an energy performance certificate and removal costs.  

Excluding first-time buyers, home movers in London pay the highest price to move home in Britain, stumping up £32,786 in upfront costs, representing 69 per cent of the average median London salary. 

Based on a median purchase price of £635,000, movers in London this year shelled out, on average, £21,750 for stamp duty, £6,887 in estate agent fees and £2,859 in conveyancing costs.

There continued to be a sharp north-south divide in the cost of moving home, with homeowners in the least expensive region, the North East of England, paying £8,010 to move, representing a quarter of the total paid by movers in London.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, where the cost of moving is around £11,500, and the North West, where moving costs about £11,920, movers remained 'much less burdened' by stamp duty bills due to lower house prices, the report said. 

Beyond England, in Northern Ireland the cost of moving jumped from £5,711 to £10,008 year-on-year. Average costs in Scotland rose from £8,391 to £9,585, while in Wales they increased from £11,677 to £12,047. 

Rob Houghton, founder and chief executive of Reallymoving, said: 'The overwhelming cost of moving home now swallows up 46 per cent of the median annual salary in England - a stark reminder of how transaction costs are acting as a significant barrier to mobility, market fluidity and broader economic growth.

'In years gone by, house price growth would enable people to build up significant equity which would then help fund the next move, but that can no longer be relied upon.' 

Conveyancing fees increased 8.7 per cent year-on-year, while average survey costs jumped by 6.5 per cent.  

Removals charges have edged 1.5 per cent higher to £709 for a move under 30 miles. The cost of obtaining an Energy Performance Certificate was the only expense to remain unchanged at £65. 

How much do first-time buyers pay to move? 

First-time buyers in England have saw moving costs rise 6.5 per cent this year compared to 2024, well ahead of the rate of inflation, meaning they now need to spend £2,315 on average to cover conveyancing, survey and removals costs. 

This upward trend played out in every part of Britain, with average upfront moving expenses up by between 3 per cent and 8 per cent for first-time buyers, Reallymoving said.   

Conveyancing and survey fees were the main drivers of these increases, reflecting both inflationary pressure on professional fees and 'moderate' house price growth.

Aside from London, which is the only region where most first-time buyers are now liable for stamp duty based on the median purchase price of £410,000, the largest increases in overall costs were seen in the East Midlands, with an 8.4 per cent rise. 

Sharp rises in the cost of moving for first-time buyers were also seen in the North West of England and Scotland.  

London stood out as an anomaly, with total costs for first-time buyers surging 221 per cent as a result of the change in stamp duty thresholds. 

Excluding the stamp duty hit, London’s underlying moving costs for first-time buyers rose by 5.5 per cent, broadly in line with national trends.

Houghton said: 'For first-time buyers the challenge doesn’t end with saving a deposit – the cost of moving is creeping ever higher in every region of the country. 

'Even small increases in fees and services can have a real impact when finances are already stretched by high rents and the cost of living. 

'It’s easy to see why the market share of first-time buyers in England and Wales has dropped by 6.6 percentage points since January - a 10.4 per cent fall - as affordability pressures force growing numbers to put their home purchase plans on hold.'

Impact of possible tax changes on movers

Speculation is at fever pitch regarding what Chancellor Rachel Reeves has in store for property taxes in this month's Autumn Budget. 

Proposed changes reportedly being mulled include replacing stamp duty for buyers with a national property tax, introducing a 'mansion tax' and replacing council tax with a new local property tax. 

Reallymoving claimed the replacement of stamp duty with an annual property tax of 0.54 per cent on homes worth more than £500,000, the average cost of upfront moving costs across England could tumble to £8,081, based on the median purchase price of £325,000. 

London remains the only location in Britain where the median purchase price is above £500,000. 

As a result, a new property tax would, according to Reallymoving, 'provide a considerable boost to market mobility across the country.' 

Houghton said: 'The replacement of stamp duty with an annual property tax would immediately lower the financial barriers to moving and inject fresh momentum into the lower to mid-market, which accounts for the majority of housing transactions. 

'By making it easier for people to move up or down the ladder as their circumstances change, such as accommodating a growing family or a new job, we would see wide-reaching benefits for the economy through greater mobility and productivity. 

'However, the impact of a potential property tax remains uncertain, depending on the values it applies from and the tax rate applied.'