The real cost to homeowners moving house within the SE of the country has risen by 132 percent within the past decade. For homeowners unable to find another method to sell home quick the cost to move house in London alone rose to 127 percent in 2011 whilst Northern Ireland saw a 24 percent rise.

Housing economist Suren Thiru, for Lloyds TSB, commented: “With the costs associated with completing a home move in the UK rising substantially over the past decade, the task for those looking to move home has undoubtedly become more challenging. The significant rise in home moving costs is particularly concerning at a time when demand in the UK housing market is weak.”

That is according to the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, which suggested it is glad the regulator has taken steps to prevent borrowers taking on more debt than they can afford to repay.

AMI director Robert Sinclair said one of the planks of the proposals, which involves making mortgage advice a requirement for all interactive sales unless the customer rejects the offer of advice, will offer “significant benefits” for consumers.

He added: “Buying a house is a substantial financial undertaking, and we have long argued that providing consumers with expert advice is a process that cannot be left to chance. The MMR’s proposals will ensure many more consumers are given the support and guidance they need to make better and more informed decisions.”

That is according to Halifax building society, which suggested prices will remain stable in 2012, estimating movement of between two per cent and minus two per cent.

Martin Ellis, Halifax’s housing economist, said the figures are encouraging news for the property market.

“Overall, we expect continuing broad stability in house prices nationally during 2012. Prices are again likely to end the year at levels close to where they begin with the market continuing to lack any real direction,” he added.

That is according to listings website Rightmove, which revealed 2011 ended with a 2.7 per cent drop in average asking prices.

It added that asking prices should rise by two per cent next year, but there will be an expected 1.2 million new sellers, down by around a third on 2007 pre-credit crunch levels.

Rightmove director Miles Shipside suggested the fate of the eurozone could also have a significant impact on the property market next year.

He said: “It’s like a high-speed train running along a damaged track, but could the bumps be so severe as to cause another Lehman Brothers-style derailment of the property market?”

This is according to the latest Halifax house prices survey and follows a rise of 1.2 per cent in October.

The report went on to state that the average home is now worth £161,731, down one per cent compared with last November.

In addition, it added, the underlying trend is downward, with November marking the third fall in the past four months.

Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis commented: “The UK average price now is only marginally lower than at the end of 2010. In addition, activity has recently shown a few signs of strengthening a little.”

He continued: “We expect the market to remain broadly unchanged in terms of both prices and sales over the coming few months as demand and supply conditions alter little.”

This is according to data released by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, which showed financial institutions ploughed £2.2bn into houses and apartments in the UK during the 12 months to April this year.

They are doing so in a bid to cash in on rising rents and find wealth stores away from the turmoil in the markets.

The recorded level of spending represents a 189 per cent increase on the same period last year, and comes as wealthy individuals from across the globe flock to buy expensive property in the UK.

Jeremy Raj, head of residential property at Wedlake Bell, revealed: “There has been a startling jump in purchases of UK residential property by institutional investors.”

He added: “Institutions are being attracted to residential property because of improving market fundamentals, including high tenant demand, high rents and a supply shortage that shows no immediate signs of abating.”

That is according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which showed more respondents reported a rise in the number of new buyer enquiries than reported a fall in November, the third month in a row that this trend has occurred.

There was also an increase in the number of respondents reporting rising sales, with the average number of sales for each surveyor rising to 15.4 in the three months to November.

This represented a low number by historical standards but was still the highest since September last year.

Alan Collett, a housing spokesman at RICS, commented: “It is encouraging that buyer interest has edged upwards in the face of the endless diet of negative news from Europe and the turmoil in financial markets. However, a meaningful recovery still seems some way off.”

That is according to listings web site Rightmove, which went on to point out that 1.2 million homes will be put up for sale next year, a third of the amount available before the beginning of the credit crunch in 2007.

In terms of 2012, the picture is slightly better, the company revealed, with prices expected to rise by two per cent.

However, it added that the country will struggle because of a shortage of housing.

“Housebuilding numbers are still failing to keep pace with the increase in the number of households and the shortfall gets worse every year,” Rightmove said.

“Both the government’s new plans to boost housebuilding by easing planning restrictions and the introduction of a mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme have yet to be tested by the market.”

That is according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors Scotland, which revealed the number of buyers enquiring about property dipped slightly last month, in its November 2011 UK Housing Market Survey.

Nevertheless, chartered surveyors remain confident sales will pick up in the next three months.

Almost one in ten respondents said house prices had gone up in November, compared with none in October.

Meanwhile, 42 per cent said prices have dropped, compared with 53 per cent in October.

Graeme Hartley, Rics Scotland director, remarked: “It is encouraging that sellers remain hopeful, with more new instructions in November than the previous month and surveyors expecting sales to pick up over the next few months.

This is according to statistics published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which said low interest rates are helping to ease the financial pressure on homeowners.

However, it added that the housing market was slowed somewhat by the large deposits still required by people buying a property for the first time, which hit around 20 per cent.

CML director-general Paul Smee said it is possible that there will be a rise in mortgage lending in the early months of next year as people rush to take advantage of the reduction in stamp duty.

“The underlying picture of the market overall, however, is level, albeit at low levels of lending activity,” Mr Smee added.