According to PropertyFinder, it's tripled in a decade to a stupid average of £9,500. The breakdown:

£5,009 - Stamp Duty
£3,027 - estate agency fees
£1,000 - legal fees
£450 - removal costs

The biggest increase since 1996 is apparently Stamp Duty, which has risen a criminal 825% from £543. Now, look at the way other figures have increased in the decade. Estate agency fees have risen by 141%. Okay, it's a lot, but it kind of reflects house price movement. It's directly geared and - although some of you are going to want to argue with me for suggesting this - in the vast majority of instances, and especially if you choose carefully, you're getting something for your money. Removal fees have risen 20% since 1996, and still strike me as good value. Think properly - for a moment - about the overheads and risks involved in the business, and you'll be amazed they can make a profit for twice that. Legal fees have risen by 17%... they started expensive and remain expensive... conveyancing is a job shrouded in unnecessary voodoo and tends to attract the bottom rung. A well-trained chipmunk could have out-performed my last London solicitor. But it's still a minor irritation compared to the 825% increase in Stamp Duty... that's come from a Chancellor who claims to care about homeowners and first-time buyers. It's a crippling, brutal tax levied by a faux-Socialist grace-and-favour Government.

Surely it's time to call MPs to account [May 8, 2006]
Blunkett's South Eaton Place days numbered? [March 10, 2006]
Government's freebie housing round-up [May 9, 2005]

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