High property prices are just the beginning of pain to your pocket research shows

BUYING a home is a huge financial commitment, but the drain on your bank account doesn’t stop when the hammer comes down.

SOARING property prices in some cities have made it harder than ever for homebuyers to get into the market.

By the time buyers factor in stamp duty, legal and administrative costs and a raft of other add-ons, they have had to come up with tens of thousands of dollars in upfront costs on top of their initial deposit.

The bad news is there is another financial hurdle that most are not prepared for; moving day.

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New research shows property buyers spend an average of $1618 physically moving home, equating to a nationwide total of $863 million a year.

Australians spend about $863 million a year on moving home.

ING’s Cost of Moving Home Report found that 50 per cent of more than 600 surveyed recently home buyers had not budgeted for costs associated with moving, while 48 per cent exceeded their budget.

This showed many people were underprepared, said ING’s head of product Tim Newman.

“When saving to move home it’s important to put aside some money for the actual move itself,” he said.

“Our research shows many Aussie buyers are left empty-handed by the unexpected costs of moving from one home to another.”

Costs involved with using a removalist can vary greatly.

The 12 per cent of survey respondents who chose to hire a removalist to do the entire job spent an average $3,655.

One in five of that 12 per cent however spent more than $5000, with a small number of these forking out more than $10,000.

You’ve bought the house, but don’t put your wallet away just yet.

Meanwhile, the 44 per cent who packed and unpacked their belongings themselves, but had them delivered by a removalist paid an average $2009, while those who hired a truck or trailer and did the job themselves paid an average of $782.

The survey also found the economy is impacted, with Australians taking 3.24 million days off work a year to pack, move and unpack.

All up, 59 per cent said they took an average 3.5 days off work to move house.

Moving house can be expensive and a stressful experience for people.

The best way to save was to use elbow grease, Mr Newman said, something that may not appeal to all.

“Home buyers can reduce the cost of moving home by almost $1000 by choosing to do it all themselves,” he said.

“If you are willing and able to move without a removalist, the cost is significantly less; an average of $624 according to our report.”

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Those not wanting to do the move themselves could recoup the costs in other ways, including switching home loan providers, with further research showing Australians who have switched loan providers in the past two years saving an average of $1073 per household, per year.

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Originally published as High property prices are just the beginning of pain to your pocket research shows