The cost of the fees and taxes incurred in moving home has jumped by almost 70 per cent in the past ten years to hit £9,000 and outstripped the rise in house prices, according to a new report.

And for families caught by the 3 per cent stamp duty trap, the costs involved with simply moving house have soared much higher – with those buying a property costing more than £250,000 instantly hit with a tax bill of at least £7,500. That means those in the South East pay an average of £16,500, while London home movers pay £19,500, a Lloyds TSB report said.

With mortgage lenders demanding big deposits or substantial equity for the best rates since the financial crisis hit, the added high cost of moving has played a major part in keeping property sales stuck near record low levels.

The report looked at the cost of moving home, in terms of stamp duty, mortgage arrangement fees, estate agency fees, surveyors and solicitors’ costs and removal costs. It said that for the average mover estate agents’ commission on their home sale still made up the biggest proportion of the cost at 38 per cent, or £3,400, and stamp duty followed behind at 21 per cent, or £1,876.

But the average masks the huge costs triggered by a three per cent stamp duty charge that faces those living in many areas where a family home costs more than £250,000.

A This is Money report last November highlighted how if that £250,000 threshold had risen in line with house price inflation since it was introduced, it would now stand at £650,000, while the £500,000 threshold for four per cent stamp duty would be £1.3m.

Lloyds report found that the average home moving bill is up 69 per cent on a decade ago, while the average house price was up 64 per cent. Both have outstripped official inflation of just under 40 per cent over the same period.

The Lloyds report also highlighted the better position that first-time buyers find themselves in when it comes to homemoving costs, as they pay on average 63 per cent less at £3,300. This is thanks mainly to having no property to sell and therefore not having estate agency fees and also to the current stamp duty break for new homeowners buying below £250,000.