By the UKPropertyCalculator team • Published 23 February 2026 • Last reviewed 4 October 2026
The asking price is the one number everybody knows, and it is the least useful one for working out how much cash you need. On the latest UK House Price Index the average UK home sold for £273,000 in July 2026, the average first-time buyer paid £229,302 and the average home mover paid £336,064. None of those buyers needed that much cash, and none of them got away with only a deposit either.
This guide lists every cost that falls due between having an offer accepted and getting the keys. Where a figure is set by law it comes from GOV.UK. Where it is a market price it comes from a named dataset with a date. The sources are listed at the foot of the page, so you can check any number that matters to you.
The deposit is the part of the price you pay yourself. The mortgage covers the rest. It is by far the largest item on the list, and it is the only one that you keep, because it becomes equity in the property.
| Property price | 5% deposit | 10% deposit | 15% deposit | 25% deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £12,500 | £25,000 | £37,500 | £62,500 |
| £350,000 | £17,500 | £35,000 | £52,500 | £87,500 |
| £500,000 | £25,000 | £50,000 | £75,000 | £125,000 |
The size of the deposit sets your loan-to-value band, and the band sets your rate. On 3 October 2026 the average five-year fix was 6.02% at 95% LTV and 5.63% at 90% LTV, on data covering about 95% of the mortgage market. Further down the curve the steps get smaller: 5.48% at 85%, 5.40% at 75% and 5.11% at 60%.
On a £350,000 purchase over 25 years, that first step looks like this:
| Deposit | Loan | Average 5-year fix | Monthly payment | Interest over 25 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5% (£17,500) | £332,500 | 6.02% | £2,146 | £311,411 |
| 10% (£35,000) | £315,000 | 5.63% | £1,959 | £272,672 |
The extra £17,500 of deposit cuts the payment by about £187 a month and the interest bill by about £38,700 if the rate were held for the full term. Real mortgages reprice when each fix ends, so treat the 25-year figure as an illustration of scale. The monthly gap is the number to plan around. For a fuller treatment of deposit sizes, see our guide to the deposit on a £400,000 house.
If you are saving in a Lifetime ISA, you can pay in up to £4,000 a year and the government adds a 25% bonus, capped at £1,000 a year. You must open it before you turn 40.
Stamp duty is charged in slices. You pay each rate only on the part of the price that falls inside its band, and first-time buyers get a more generous set of bands on homes up to £500,000.
| Portion of the price | Standard rate | First-time buyer rate |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £125,000 | 0% | 0% |
| £125,001 to £250,000 | 2% | 0% |
| £250,001 to £300,000 | 5% | 0% |
| £300,001 to £500,000 | 5% | 5% |
| £500,001 to £925,000 | 5% | No relief |
| £925,001 to £1.5 million | 10% | No relief |
| Above £1.5 million | 12% | No relief |
The first-time buyer relief has a cliff edge. If the price is over £500,000 the relief disappears completely and the standard rates apply to the whole purchase. Worked through at the three price points used in this guide:
| Purchase price | Home mover | First-time buyer | Additional property |
|---|---|---|---|
| £250,000 | £2,500 | £0 | £15,000 |
| £350,000 | £7,500 | £2,500 | £25,000 |
| £500,000 | £15,000 | £10,000 | £40,000 |
The additional property column adds the 5% surcharge that applies to second homes and buy-to-lets, charged on the full price. Buyers who are not UK resident pay a further 2%.
Put against the national averages, the typical first-time buyer at £229,302 pays no stamp duty at all, and the typical home mover at £336,064 pays about £6,803.
The return must be filed and the tax paid within 14 days of completion. Your conveyancer normally does both on completion day and adds the tax to their bill, so the money has to be in their client account before you complete. You cannot settle it later. Our Stamp Duty Calculator works out the figure for any price and buyer type.
A conveyancer checks the title, raises enquiries with the seller, orders searches, handles the money on completion and registers you as the new owner. According to Reallymoving's Conveyancing Costs Index for the second quarter of 2026, as reported by the HomeOwners Alliance, the average bill when buying is £1,509 including disbursements and VAT.
Disbursements are costs the conveyancer pays on your behalf and passes on. The usual ones are:
The Land Registry fee is the one part of a conveyancing quote you can check to the pound. HM Land Registry's Scale 1 fees, in force since 9 December 2024, are:
| Purchase price | Registered electronically | Registered by post |
|---|---|---|
| £0 to £80,000 | £20 | £45 |
| £80,001 to £100,000 | £40 | £95 |
| £100,001 to £200,000 | £100 | £230 |
| £200,001 to £500,000 | £150 | £330 |
| £500,001 to £1,000,000 | £295 | £655 |
| £1,000,001 and over | £500 | £1,105 |
The lower electronic fee applies when the whole of an already registered title is transferred, which covers most purchases of existing homes. All three price points in this guide fall in the £200,001 to £500,000 band, so the fee is £150. If a quote shows a larger Land Registry figure for a straightforward purchase in that band, ask why.
Your lender will value the property, but RICS is blunt about what that is worth to you: a mortgage valuation "is for the benefit of the lender, not the home buyer" and "won't include the same level of detail as a survey". It confirms the property is adequate security for the loan. It does not tell you about the roof.
RICS home surveys come in three levels. The price ranges below are the HomeOwners Alliance's 2026 figures, and they vary with the property's value and location.
| Survey | Typical cost | RICS says it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | £300 to £900 | Conventional properties and newer homes in good condition |
| Level 2 | £400 to £1,000 | Conventional properties in reasonable condition that are simple in form and layout |
| Level 3 | £630 to £1,500 or more | Large, older or run-down properties, unusual or altered buildings, or where major works are planned |
Level 2 can be bought with or without a market valuation. Level 3 was previously known as a building survey. The useful way to think about the fee is as a share of the price: a £1,000 survey on a £350,000 house is under 0.3% of what you are about to spend, and its findings are the main evidence you will have if you need to renegotiate before exchange.
The headline rate is only part of what a mortgage costs. The market average rates quoted above are based on products with a fee of around £999, which is the level to budget for. Fee-free products exist, usually at a higher rate.
You can normally add the product fee to the loan instead of paying it upfront. That keeps £999 in your pocket on completion day, but it is not free. Added to a 25-year mortgage at 5.63%, a £999 fee costs about £6.21 a month and roughly £865 in interest over the full term. If you have the cash, paying it upfront is cheaper.
Other items that can appear:
Reallymoving's August 2026 data, as reported by the HomeOwners Alliance, puts the average cost of a professional removal within 25km at:
| Home size | Average removal cost (including VAT) |
|---|---|
| 1 bedroom | £330 |
| 2 bedrooms | £543 |
| 3 bedrooms | £792 |
| 4 bedrooms | £1,169 |
| 5 bedrooms | £1,590 |
Those figures are for loading, transport and unloading. A packing service adds around £400 to £500 for a three-bedroom house. Distance matters as well, and a long-distance move will cost noticeably more than these averages. First-time buyers moving out of a rented flat often spend far less, since a hired van and a free weekend will do the job.
Each column assumes a 10% deposit, a Level 2 survey, a £999 product fee paid upfront and a local move. Conveyancing uses the £1,509 national average, which already includes searches and the Land Registry fee.
| Cost | £250k first-time buyer, 2-bed | £350k first-time buyer, 3-bed | £500k home mover, 4-bed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% deposit | £25,000 | £35,000 | £50,000 |
| Stamp duty | £0 | £2,500 | £15,000 |
| Conveyancing with disbursements | £1,509 | £1,509 | £1,509 |
| Level 2 survey | £400 to £1,000 | £400 to £1,000 | £400 to £1,000 |
| Mortgage product fee | £999 | £999 | £999 |
| Removals | £543 | £792 | £1,169 |
| Tax and fees | £3,451 to £4,051 | £6,200 to £6,800 | £19,077 to £19,677 |
| Total cash needed | £28,451 to £29,051 | £41,200 to £41,800 | £69,077 to £69,677 |
| Monthly payment at 5.63% over 25 years | £1,399 | £1,959 | £2,798 |
Three caveats, so the table is not read as more precise than it is.
The pattern across the three columns is the point. At £250,000 a first-time buyer's tax and fees come to about 1.5% of the price. At £500,000 a home mover's come to nearly 4%, and three quarters of that is stamp duty. The deposit dominates at every price, but stamp duty is what makes moving up the ladder expensive.
Ready to model the ongoing costs?
Compare Buying vs Renting →A first-time buyer putting down 10% needs roughly £41,200 to £41,800: a £35,000 deposit, £2,500 stamp duty, about £1,509 of conveyancing including disbursements, a survey at £400 to £1,000, a mortgage product fee of around £999 and about £792 for removals. With a 5% deposit the figure falls to roughly £23,700 to £24,300. A home mover pays £5,000 more in stamp duty.
In England and Northern Ireland, first-time buyers pay no Stamp Duty Land Tax up to £300,000 and 5% on the portion from £300,001 to £500,000. Above £500,000 the relief is not available and standard rates apply to the whole price. On a £350,000 home a first-time buyer pays £2,500, against £7,500 for a home mover.
For a purchase between £200,001 and £500,000, HM Land Registry charges £150 when your conveyancer registers the transfer of a whole registered title electronically, or £330 by post. Between £500,001 and £1,000,000 the fees are £295 and £655. These fees have applied since 9 December 2024.
Usually yes, but you then pay interest on it. A £999 product fee added to a 25-year mortgage at 5.63% costs about £6.21 a month and roughly £865 in interest over the full term, so the fee ends up costing about £1,864 in total.
Monthly payments and interest totals were calculated with the standard repayment amortisation formula on a 25-year term, holding the quoted rate for the full term. Real mortgages reprice at the end of each fixed period, so the long-run totals are illustrative. Market prices for conveyancing, surveys and removals are averages and your quotes will differ. This article is for information only and is not financial advice. See our Disclaimer.