Average cost to sell now £5,413, climbing to £11,500 in London

IF you want to sell your home you'll have to spend over £5,400 on the process, taking into account factors like estate agency and conveyancing fees, although this cost climbs as high as £11,500 in the capital.

That is according to estate agent comparison site, GetAgent.co.uk, which utilised its:- 'My Property Tracker' tool to calculate the varying cost of selling a property up and down the country.

GetAgent's:- 'My Property Tracker' monitors the cost of selling a home based on current property values, the average estate agent fee, the cost of conveyancing, disbursements (additional solicitor costs), as well as the Energy Performance Certificate report, which outlines how efficient your property is.

The figures show that currently across Britain, the average seller will spend £5,413 in order to sell their home.

Most upfront costs go on estate agency fees, accounting for 81% of the total cost, at £4,400.

Conveyancing makes up a further 14%, typically costing the seller £776, with disbursements and EPC costs accounting for the remaining 4%.

While estate agent fees may seem steep, they sit below 2.00% of the house price across every Region of Great Britain, averaging at 1.52%.

London the costliest place to sell... With a current average house price of £527,979, London home sellers need to budget for the biggest outlay when selling, at:- £11,479.

With such high stakes work in the capital the average estate agents charge the most of all Regions, with an average fee of 1.95% equating to £10,308 in the current market. Though it's likely this high percentage is skewed by a small number of prime transactions in the capital, where specialist agents charge higher fees to service some of the wealthiest homeowners.

Conveyancers also charge more than every other Region, at:- £994.

The higher the house price = the higher the cost of selling.

It also costs more to sell in higher priced Regions outside the capital, like the South East, at:- £7,100. The Region correspondingly has the 2nd highest house price of:- £391,400.

Similarly in the South West, which contains some sought after areas of natural beauty and therefore has a typical price of £321,200, you need to budget for sellers' costs of:- £6,108.

It's cheaper to sell in lower priced areas, as you only have to spend a small amount on costs like estate agents and lawyers.

In the North East selling costs come to around:- £3,300, with the Region being the cheapest, with a typical house price of:- £161,000.

This is followed by Scotland, at:- £3,400 against a typical house price of:- £189,400, and then the North West, at:- £4,000 compared to an average house price of:- £215,600.

Co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, Colby Short, commented:- "Despite wider economic instability the housing market has stood strong in recent months, with only a marginal decline in house prices to date. This means that as a seller you'll hopefully end up with a healthy profit when you do come to sell, but you still need to budget for the cost required to transact which is currently over £5,000 on average. Typically the higher the house price the higher the costs will be, as most costs incurred are based on a percentage of your selling price and so you'll need to come up with over:- £10,000 in London. While the biggest outlay is the fee paid to your estate agent, it's money well spent, particularly in the current market where finding a legitimate buyer and making it through to completion has become all the harder. When dealing with such an expensive asset, it makes perfect sense to get the best professional help possible and we've seen how opting for a low, fixed fee agent can backfire when it comes to price achieved and the quality of service provided. Similarly when exchanging contracts if you use a quality conveyancer it can be the difference between securing a pain-free sale and being stressed out for months, so it's not something to skimp out on."

385,000 potential renewable land sites currently available - Here's how best to find them

THE latest data from Searchland, the development site sourcing specialists, has shown that there are almost 385,000 potential site sourcing opportunities available to renewable companies across the UK, highlighting the 8 key steps that these companies need to take when it comes to identifying and developing such sites.

From solar to wind farms and everything in between, renewable energy is changing the global energy landscape as sustainable power solutions become the increasingly preferred option to not only power the UK, but to help in the right against greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

However, like many areas of land development, it's not without its challenges. Renewable energy sites require a substantial amount of flat, open land, access routes and space for batteries and inverters. In fact, the average 1MW solar farm needs around 6 acres for a site to be a viable option.

Land such as brownfield or industrial land that is often shunned by residential property developers is ideal for renewable conversion and the good news is that Searchland's data shows there are plenty of opportunities in the current market.

385,000 renewable site opportunities across the UK... As it stands, there are some 384,763 sites available across the UK with an average plot size of 89.8 acres. General industrial sites are the most abundant option with 319,130 current plots, albeit they average the smallest plot size at 12 acres.

There are 33,066 farm plots currently available with an average plot size of 125.4 acres, with a further 4,181 agricultural site opportunities. While they account for the lowest volume, these agricultural sites boast the largest average plot size at 132 acres. But the transition to a renewable site isn't always seamless and requires ongoing maintenance of the land, consideration of the variability of natural energy generation and the management of differing expectations between renewable companies and land owners.

8 considerations when sourcing renewable sites... Searchland has compiled 8 top considerations for renewable companies to consider when sourcing land successfully.

Gain access to comprehensive DNO data; Starting with an all encompassing view is essential and you need to access all 14 DNO map areas across England, Wales and Scotland to ensure you get a full view of just what is available. This includes:- supplier information, operators, substations, power lines, line voltages, towers, and tower voltages, allowing an informed decision on site selection, infrastructure planning, integration, optimisation and efficiency and more.

Filtering by proximity to substations and lines; There are almost 175,000 DNO substations across England alone, with over 3 million towers. A site within close proximity to a substation helps to reduce energy loss during transmission and improve efficiency.

Access to headroom rating and voltage group data; While the close proximity of a substation is important, you also need to know they have the room to accommodate an additional energy supply, allowing you to integrate seamlessly with the power grid.

Selecting the right terrain and panel facing direction; Where solar farms are concerned, the ideal plot is South facing, flat or sloped land to help maximise exposure to the sun. Being able to identify such plots from the get go dramatically improves search efficiency, not to mention whether or not the plot is suitable in terms of overall size.

Navigating local policy; Local policy can bring about a minefield of complications and so getting an immediate view of local planning regulations can prevent any unforeseen problems. Searchland's AI tool provides instant information from local Council plan documents and their approach to renewable energy, saving you hours of scrolling.

Evaluating and filtering planning constraints; Renewable development requires careful consideration of planning constraints, with factors such as flood zones or heritage sites preventing the process from moving forward.

Finding sites to power commercial areas directly; Commercial zones provide a great opportunity to help suppliers bypass their competitors to supply power to commercial consumers directly. In doing so, they increase optimisation as well as profit margins.

Planning application insights; By reviewing existing planning applications, as well as other already operational renewable sites, you can gain vital insight on the competitive landscape to help inform your strategic planning.

For more help on how best to source a renewable site check out Searchland's latest blog.

Co-founder and CEO of Searchland, Mitchell Fasanya, commented:- "The renewable energy space is evolving at great speed and it has become 1 of the driving forces where land sourcing is concerned. Like all areas of land development, it's not without its own individual requirements and restrictions which need to be carefully considered during the sourcing process. The success of this process relies on the abundance of information and the speed and efficiency at which it can be processed. Having a comprehensive view of potential sites is a great place to start, but the real value lies in being able to quickly identify the additional factors required such as plot size, the lie of the land, proximity of substations and so on. The ability to do so will enable renewable companies to stay a step ahead in what is already a very competitive and fast moving market."