The real cost of moving house in Birmingham in 2026

Over the past year the average sale price in Birmingham has been £260,837, a figure derived from HM Land Registry data published by Rightmove and most recently updated in July 2026. Terraced houses sold on average for £237,773, semi-detached houses for £280,068 and flats for £148,146. The following explains what the cost would be if one moved at those prices.

Stamp duty on a Birmingham purchase

The stamp duty rates in England are 0% on amounts up to £125,000, 2% on those up to £250,000, and 5% on amounts up to £925,000; based on an average value of £260,837 this amounts to approximately £3,042, which consists of £2,500 from the middle band and £542 from the portion exceeding £250,000.

For those buying their first home, no stamp duty is due up to an amount of £300,000, so a property which is average in Birmingham incurs no stamp duty at all, and even the average semi-detached house, priced at £280,068, remains within the relief. Landlords and people buying their second home have to pay a 5% additional property surcharge on the full price — on a price of £260,837 this adds about £13,042, making the total sum approximately £16,084.

Legal fees, EPC and survey

The conveyancing fees involved in selling a property are generally between £700 and £1,300, with leasehold properties bringing the cost up by about £150 to £400, and the legal fees paid by the buyer range from £1,200 to £1,900 before adding disbursements such as local searches and Land Registry fees, which can amount to £700 or more; when an EPC has expired, it costs between £60 and £120.

The cost of a survey for purchasing generally ranges from £500 to £900 in the case of a Level 2 report and from £800 to £1,500 or so for a Level 3 building survey. The more comprehensive survey should be considered when looking at Birmingham's large number of Victorian and interwar terraces, as the cost of necessary repairs in these properties is much higher than that of the report.

The legal expenses, not the tax bill, increase when one purchases a flat in the city centre. Since flats are mostly leasehold properties, one usually has to pay about £300 in legal fees together with the cost of the freeholder's management pack, and for a property that costs an average of £148,146 the stamp duty due from a home mover is £463.

Removals

The cost of removals depends on both the size of the house and the distance being travelled. For a move within 20 miles, the price for a one- or two-bedroom property is usually between £430 and £600; a three-bedroom move, which is typical when moving across Birmingham, has an average cost of about £870, and a five-bedroom house amounts to around £1,600. For longer-distance moves, an extra £1.50 per mile and £35 per hour are added, so a five-bedroom move covering more than 100 miles can easily reach £2,000. Moves scheduled for midweek and those booked early are generally cheaper than a move on a Friday that is booked late.

Selling costs and local timing

The commission charged by an estate agent is typically the largest single expense associated with a sale. Average commission rates in the UK have remained at about 1.4% to 1.5% including VAT all the way up to 2026, meaning that an agent selling an average home in Birmingham would charge somewhere between £3,650 and £3,900. Regarding speed, Rightmove's index for July 2026 shows that the West Midlands has an average of about 62 days to secure a buyer, which places it mid-way in England when compared to Scotland's approximate 29 days.

What a full move adds up to

If a household sold an average semi-detached house in Birmingham and then bought one at the city average price, the costs would be as follows — on the selling side, the agent would cost about £3,650, conveyancing around £900, and the EPC about £90; on the buying side, stamp duty would amount to £3,042, conveyancing together with disbursements would be around £2,100, and the survey would cost about £500; removals would total around £870. The total thus comes to approximately £11,150 before any mortgage fees are added, in the case of a move in which the two properties cost roughly the same amount.

The Birmingham-specific good news sits with first-time buyers — at current local averages, most first purchases in the city escape stamp duty entirely, which is not true of London. We have priced up moves in London and Manchester in separate cost guides. When you are ready to line up the move itself, you can compare removals and conveyancing quotes on Moving Compared in one place.