The city with the lowest moving costs is revealed – and it's £1000 CHEAPER than London
We've got the inside track on where it costs the least – and the most – to move house
You’ve scoured the internet for the cheapest places to live, narrowing down the filter on Rightmove and Zoopla. Finally, you take the plunge and schedule a few house viewings that are in your budget.
But before you fall in love with the kitchen or living room space and put in an offer, you might want to check how much it is actually going to cost you to move.
Related: We reveal what's costing homeowners £3,500 when moving house
Moving houses can often cost Brits almost £2,000 in hidden costs. These costs involve shelling out on movers, storage space, professional cleaning, painting and decorating and the all-important redirection of post.
However, not all cities will cost you an arm and a leg to move to. An investigation by Admiral Home Insurance, has revealed the most expensive cities for house movers, and more importantly the cheapest!
Factoring in cleaning, painting, storage, hiring a man with a van and renting a van, London topped the list as the most expensive location to move house. The hidden costs in South and West London totted up to an estimated £2,223.63.
It was followed by Southampton, where it would cost you £2,025.06 to move to a new property. However, surprisingly, it cost £100 less to move in North London, than in Oxford or Nottingham.
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Birmingham was found to be the cheapest city to move in, setting you back only £1,345.84. That’s almost £900 less than it would cost you to move in South London. Closely followed by Newcastle, which will only require you to budget £1,470.34 to relocate.
Check the lists below to see if you could be in for any budgeting surprise when moving to your dream home.
Areas with the highest moving costs in the UK
- South London – £2,223.63
- West London – £2,067.40
- Southampton – £2,025.06
- East London – £1,998.13
- Brighton – £1,973.66
- Nottingham – £1,924.28
- Oxford – £1,923.57
- North London – £1,822.21
- Edinburgh – £1,859.82
- Manchester – £1,744.94
Areas with the lowest moving costs in the UK
- Birmingham – £1,345.84
- Newcastle – £1,470.34
- Plymouth – £1,541.53
- Liverpool – £1, 548.53
- Belfast – £1,564.66
- Swansea – £1,577.05
- Leeds – £1,581.27
- Norwich – £1,610.56
- Bristol – £1,617.83
- Glasgow – £1,628.20
Related: The cost of moving house – and how you can make savings
Have you set aside enough for money to pay the movers, or will you be putting in a last-minute call to your friends with the biggest cars?
Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.
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