London homeowners looking to upsize their homes can expect to pay nearly four times the national average in order to take the next step up the property ladder, according to new research by Barclays.

With half (50 per cent) of British homeowners planning to move house within the next five years, and almost two-thirds (58 per cent) setting their sights on a bigger home, they’re most certainly going to have to dig deep to fulfil their dreams. Barclays’ analysis of 50,000 mortgage applications found that London homeowners looking to move from a one to a two bedroom property can expect to pay an average of £91,000 for the extra room, compared to a national average of £26,000. Those Londoners looking to take the next step up the property ladder can expect to pay, on average £154,000 for that third bedroom.

This price difference increases again with a move from three to four bedrooms, with homeowners incurring an average price hike of £259,652 across London. The new figures also lay bare how London homeowners fare compared to the rest of the country. In contrast to the £91,000 homeowners face to step up to a two bedroom house, those living in the north east can expect to face an approximate £10,000 price increase to move from a one to two bed home. Those in the east can expect to pay four times that amount, at £46,000. However these price increases may come as a shock to homeowners as Barclays’ research reveals there are misconceptions about how much homeowners think this next step on the ladder is likely to cost, with homeowners pricing a move from a three bedroom to a four bedroom house at just under £100,000.

With Barclays data showing the actual figure could be 30 per cent higher than that, homeowners are being urged to think ahead in order to be able to upsize.

The desire to help children onto the property ladder remains very strong, with more than a third of parents (38 per cent), planning to help their children. But family support is transcending the traditional parent/child dynamic, with homeowners citing grandparents (10 per cent) aunts and uncles (9 per cent) and even children (6 per cent) as potential sources of support.

In addition, the British property market is being driven by the needs of families: of the parents polled by Barclays, 77 per cent said they felt it essential that children have their own bedroom. Perhaps unsurprisingly the top priority for homeowners is to own a house in a good area, chosen by 23 per cent of people, with living in the catchment area for good schools (12 per cent) coming second, demonstrating again the impact the needs of family life are having on the British property market.