The average cost of buying and selling a house has increased by 2% year-on-year to £10,414, which is likely a factor for home ownership being less popular.
Research by ReallyMoving, a comparison site for conveyancing, surveys and removals, reveals the average cost of buying and selling a home is £10,414 across the UK and £24,585 in London. Additionally, the study shows the costs for first-time buyers have also increased – up by 2% to £1,613.
Stamp duty and conveyancing fee hikes
As the cost of moving has increased for the fourth consecutive year, the price hike is mainly because of the higher stamp duty payments, which is up 4%. Conveyancing fees have also been a factor with a 5% rise since last year.
Stamp duty takes up 44% of the total cost of a house move on average, while in London that rises to 65%. When buying and selling, the average cost of stamp duty is £4,625, which is based on the median property value, and conveyancing comes to £1,490.
Home ownership aspirations are becoming less popular
With high property prices and the increasing cost of buying and selling a house, more people in the UK are likely to choose to rent for longer. Based on current rates, tenants privately renting are even expected to outnumber homeowners by 2039.
Only 42% of private tenants in the UK are interested in stepping onto the property ladder in the near future, according to research by Landbay. Older tenants are the least interested as only 13% of people over 55 are keen to buy soon. And less than half of those aged 35-44 are interested in stepping onto the property ladder in the coming years.
A quarter of renters without home ownership aspirations say the flexibility that renting offers is why they don’t want to buy. This shows that more tenants might be interested in staying put for longer.
Growing demand in the rental market
As the majority of renters don’t plan on buying soon, this demonstrates the continued need for rentals in the private rented sector to keep up with the growing demand. A recent report even revealed the number of landlords seeing growth in tenant demand is at its highest in almost a year.
Generation Rent is a big part of the rental market that needs to be catered for, especially as tenant demand remains high while supply is low. This highlights the opportunities available for buy-to-let landlords and investors.
