The average cost of conveyancing for home movers fell sharply in the final quarter of 2025 as transaction levels slowed ahead of the Autumn Budget.
The cost home movers paid for conveyancing services fell by 3.2% between the third and fourth quarters of 2025, according to new data from reallymoving.
Those buying and selling a property now pay an average of £2,372 to cover legal fees, expenses and disbursements, down from £2,451 in the previous quarter.
The quarterly fall means conveyancing costs ended 2025 marginally lower than a year earlier, declining by 0.5% compared with the final quarter of 2024. When inflation is taken into account, prices were down 3.8% year on year in real terms.
The figures are based on analysis of more than 69,000 conveyancing quotes and form part of reallymoving’s Conveyancing Costs Index, which tracks the prices actually paid by home movers across the UK for a combined sale and purchase.
Average purchase fees, including disbursements and expenses, fell back to £1,486 in the final quarter, while sale fees declined to £886. This marked the first notable quarterly drop since early 2025, following modest increases through the spring and summer.
Prices fell in nine of the 12 UK regions during the final three months of the year. The steepest decline was recorded in London, where average conveyancing costs dropped by 6.4%. Scotland saw a fall of 4.2%, while costs in the South East declined by 4%.
By contrast, Wales was the only region to see a more pronounced increase, with average costs rising by 5%. Smaller rises of 0.5% were also recorded in the North East and North West, where transaction levels proved more resilient than elsewhere.
Rob Houghton, founder and chief executive of reallymoving, said: “Concern over what might be announced in the Autumn Budget stopped the housing market in its tracks in the final quarter, feeding directly through to conveyancing prices and increasing pressure on fees.
“Taking inflation into account, conveyancing costs are now 3.8% lower in real terms than Q4 2024.
“While this drop will be welcome news for home movers, it reflects softer market conditions rather than a fundamental shift in pricing.
“Conveyancers have had to compete harder for instructions as transaction volumes slowed, particularly in higher-cost regions like London and the South East.
“That’s good news for movers in the short term, but if activity rebounds this year, these lower prices are unlikely to last.”
The Conveyancing Costs Index has tracked pricing trends since 2018 and is updated monthly to reflect changes in market conditions and transaction volumes.
