Every year, the same story is peddled: “Buckle up, the busiest moving day of the year is coming!” The day, as we’re sure you know, is the last Friday of August.
We have decided to test this theory. Sure, the last Friday of August is busy no doubt, but is it actually the date that the most completions occur all year? Our analysts took a look at completion data between 2020 and 2024. The results are in... it’s not the busiest day!
In the table below, we have outlined the top ten busiest days for the years 2020 to 2024. We have highlighted the last Friday of August so you can see where the day ranked for each year. The highest that this date placed was fourth last year. However, it is important to note that the stamp duty holiday during the pandemic has significantly impacted the results for 2020 and 2021. Homemovers enjoyed a break from paying stamp duty between 8th July 2020 and 30th June 2021, and this caused a rush of house moves. As a result, 2021’s last Friday in August didn’t even make the top ten and ranked as the seventeenth busiest day that year. The stamp duty holiday is also responsible for 30th June 2021 being the busiest day over the whole five years with 30,448 completions. These homemovers made the deadline by the skin of their teeth as conveyancers rushed to complete their transactions in time.
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Ranking of the busiest moving days for 2020-2024
When we look at the years 2022, 2023 and 2024, arguably closer to normal market years, the last Friday of August was still not the busiest day, ranking ninth, tenth and fourth, respectively.
The reason it's assumed that the last Friday in August is the busiest move day is that many people are on annual leave, looking to be in their new homes for the new school year and prefer to move in warmer weather. Another reason it’s often popular is thanks to the late August bank holiday. When the last Friday of August coincides with the bank holiday, movers get an extra day to unpack and settle into their new property. However, even in 2022, when the last Friday of the month fell on the bank holiday weekend, the day was still only the ninth busiest move day of the year.
The last Friday of all months of the year (bar December due to company closures) appears often on the list. This tends to be a favoured completion date so that homemovers can schedule their first mortgage payment to coincide with payday instead of being hit with a higher first mortgage payment.
What is the busiest move month?
August is usually quoted as the busiest move month overall. When we crunched the numbers, we found that based on the number of completions for the years 2020-2024, August was actually seventh overall. June was the busiest move month, followed by March and then September. April was the quietest month to move home.
The busiest month to move 2020-2024
We wanted to see how much the stamp duty holiday skewed these results, so we took a look at 2022-2024 in isolation. The results are very different:
The busiest month to move 2022-2024
When we look at completion data for just 2022-2024, August is the busiest month, followed by March and then October in third position. It is January that replaces April as the least popular month to move. Interestingly, April is still the second from the bottom. Is this a trend that your removal firm observes? Is April quiet alongside the winter months?
Let’s go a little more granular and look at the breakdown for each year:
Ranking of the busiest moving months for 2020-2024
Again, we can clearly see the impact of the stamp duty holiday in these results with the latter months of 2020 and earlier months of 2021 ranking higher. As expected, June topped the chart in 2021. Looking at 2022 and 2023, August returned as the busiest completion month. Last year, August ranked third, but we need to take into account that completions are not fully accounted for yet as more complex transaction data can take longer to log.
The main trend from these results is that, unsurprisingly, summer and springtime rank higher than colder months for completions.
Friday remains the most popular day to move
It goes without saying that Friday is the most popular day to move. Many movers prefer to have the whole weekend to unpack and reduce the amount of annual leave they need to take. Unsurprisingly, the weekend is hugely unpopular as many solicitors and lenders are shut.
As a removal firm facing pressure to serve increased Friday moves, you should encourage your customers to consider alternative move days to even out your work week. Remind your customers that Friday may give them the weekend to unpack, but it comes with its challenges. One major issue is that removal slots on Fridays get booked up quickly, making it harder for your customers to secure the help they need. This can add further stress to an already demanding process. On top of that, bank transactions can be delayed because of the influx on a Friday. If funds don’t clear by around 3:30 pm on a Friday, there’s a real risk of not completing and your customers can be left in limbo, or even homeless over the weekend. The banking system failures in the last few months are evidence of this!
It's worth encouraging customers to move earlier in the week. A Monday move, for example, allows homeowners to use the weekend beforehand to pack and clean. If you’re not doing so already, offer discounts on Monday to Thursday moves to help reduce the stress on your team and customers.
The busiest day to move 2020-2024
Need help to boost business in quieter seasons?
The removal industry has always suffered from seasonal spikes and dips. If you’re finding the winter months and April, quiet, MoverAlerts can help. We track the property market and know exactly who is moving home and when. We can provide you with address leads of those who are moving home in your area so you can market to these potential customers. Alternatively, you can use our marketing fulfilment services, and we’ll do the marketing on your behalf. We can help you target homemovers at different points of their journey, so your business is in front of them right when they’re considering a removal company. This will help to drive extra business when your firm is traditionally quiet, and your team are twiddling their thumbs. Sound good? Get in touch to find out more about how we can increase your enquiries.