The real cost of moving house in Cardiff in 2026

The average Cardiff home cost £270,094 in June 2026 according to the UK House Price Index, up 2.1% on the year. Wales runs its own property tax system, so the tax line on a Cardiff move follows Cardiff Bay's rules, not Westminster's.

Land Transaction Tax, not stamp duty

Wales charges Land Transaction Tax on purchases, not stamp duty. The rates on gov.wales charge nothing on the portion up to £225,000, 6% from there to £400,000, 7.5% to £750,000, 10% to £1.5 million and 12% above. On the £270,094 average, that means 6% of £45,094, which comes to £2,706. The nil band is generous at £225,000, but the first taxed band jumps straight to 6%, so the bill climbs fast once you're over the threshold.

One thing the gov.wales rates page makes clear by omission: there's no first-time buyer relief in Wales at all, unlike England's £300,000 nil band for first-time buyers or Scotland's smaller uplift. The wide £225,000 nil band does a lot of the same job at Cardiff prices though. Land Registry sold-price data puts the average Cardiff flat at around £171,000 and the average terrace at around £194,000 over the past year, both comfortably under the threshold, so a first-time buyer picking either one pays no LTT at all. Buy an additional property, such as a buy-to-let, and you move onto Wales's higher residential rates instead, which start at 5% with no nil band of their own, so landlords should run that calculation separately. Your solicitor files the LTT return with the Welsh Revenue Authority, and it's due within 30 days of completion.

Legal work, survey and searches

Conveyancing in Wales runs the same process as in England, same forms, same rhythm, so the tax return is really the only piece your solicitor handles differently. Budget up to around £1,800 for a purchase including searches and registration, and another £800 to £1,500 on top for a simultaneous sale. A survey runs from about £300 for a basic condition report to £1,500 or more for a full structural one. Cardiff's large stock of Victorian and Edwardian terraces in areas like Roath and Canton makes the mid-range Level 2 survey, typically £450 to £750, the sensible default, stepping up to Level 3 where the property is older or has been altered.

Removals and the rest

Removals for a typical move run roughly £450 to £1,400, with local Cardiff moves toward the lower end and packing services extra. Sellers need an Energy Performance Certificate at £60 to £120 if theirs has lapsed, and the usual small costs, mail redirection, cleaning, round things out.

If you are selling too

The estate agent fee is the biggest selling cost. At a typical high street rate of around 1.4% including VAT, the fee on an average Cardiff home works out at roughly £3,800, and it's negotiable, so get more than one agent through the door before instructing anyone. If you're running a sale and purchase together, it's worth instructing one conveyancer for both, so the two transactions stay synchronised on a single desk.

The whole bill at the average price

A buyer at the £270,094 average is looking at £2,706 of LTT, £2,500 to £3,000 of combined legal fees on a sale and purchase, around £500 for a survey and £700 for removals, so roughly £6,500 all in before estate agency fees. The comparable move in Bristol, across the water, carries a noticeably higher tax and price line, which we work through in our Bristol moving costs guide.

When you're ready to price the move properly, compare removals and conveyancing quotes for your Cardiff move and let firms compete on the two biggest service costs.