The survey, published by the Woolwich, showed that homebuyers can save more than £24,000 on the average property price of £163,000 through tough negotiation. More than one third of buyers managed to knock between 6% and 15% off asking prices in the last year, it said.

In London, where a slowdown in the property market is helping buyers beat down prices, half of housebuyers paid between 6% and 15% less than the asking price, saving up to £37,500 on the average property.

However, haggling is not paying off in all regions. In Yorkshire and Humberside, where the property boom continues and sellers still have the upper hand, only one in ten buyers were able to negotiate a significant discount, and 13% even offered at least 5% more than the asking price.

Andy Gray, head of mortgages at the Woolwich, said "More than ever it seems that a hard-nosed stance can pay dividends when negotiating on both price and fees for moving house. Housebuyers should not be afraid of taking a tough position because, despite the optimism felt by estate agents for the coming year, it is a buyer's market at the moment."

The Woolwich also found that the average cost of moving house, taking into account solicitors' and estate agents' fees, land registry costs, stamp duty and local authority searches, had fallen during the last 12 months. It said the cost of moving from a £150,000 home to a £200,000 had dropped by around £300 in the past year to average £5,523, largely as a result of a fall in solicitors' fees due to increased competition.

While Londoners have the most success haggling, the capital remains the most expensive place to buy and sell a house. The cost of moving from a £150,000 property to a £200,000 was on average £6,186, although this is still slightly less than in 2003, at 1% cheaper.

The south-west is the next most expensive place to move. It costs an average of £5,937 to buy a £200,000 house, followed by East Anglia at £5,860 and the south-east at £5,706, while moving house in the north-west, Yorkshire and Humberside costs around £1,000 less.

But while the cost of moving may have dropped slightly, a separate report published yesterday revealed that people in England and Wales are still spending a staggering £449m a day, or £164bn a year, on property. That's enough to buy more than 1,000 Chelsea football clubs. Ben Thompson, director of broker Clear Cut Mortgages, said: "The total £164bn a year spent on homes in England and Wales equates to the gross domestic product of South Africa on an annual basis and matches the value of UK exports. It would buy all the companies in the FTSE100 by market capitalisation. We could buy David Beckham 6,500 times over, 1,171 Chelsea football clubs or 23 Roman Abramoviches."