ugust is the most popular month to move home, analysis of thousands of removal quotes suggests.
Analysis of more than 630,000 quotes collected by reallymoving indicated that August has been the most popular month to move home for the past 11 years.
Research was carried out jointly with property advice website the HomeOwners Alliance, with the findings indicating that Friday August 25 could be the most popular day to move in 2023, enabling people to settle into their new home over the bank holiday weekend.
Three in 10 (30%) households move on a Friday, and the last Friday in August tends to be the busiest day of the year to move, the findings indicate.
Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance, said: “With the long summer bank holiday weekend it’s no surprise Friday August 25 is set to be the busiest day to move.
Ensure your conveyancer and everyone in the chain knows you’re working towards that date and book your removals firm well in advance
“A long weekend gives movers the opportunity to get settled and sorted before families return to school and work. But, in a cost-of-living crisis, we wanted to point out to homebuyers that there are savings to be had by avoiding the busiest day.
“With the average two-bedroom house move costing over £500, it would be wise for households to consider moving at a less busy time so they can negotiate a discount on their removals quote.
“For those fixed on moving over the bank holiday weekend, prepare for delays as removals firms are put under added strain.”
The research also indicated that February is the least popular month for house moves, with Sunday being the least popular day of the week to move.
Rob Houghton, CEO of reallymoving, said: “Moving on the busiest day of the year isn’t for the faint-hearted, especially with the August bank holiday also happening that week, pushing more moves on to the remaining four days.
“Ensure your conveyancer and everyone in the chain knows you’re working towards that date and book your removals firm well in advance, so you only need to confirm as soon as you exchange.
“It’s best to ask them to come to your house to assess the volume of your belongings. This ensures you have the right-sized van and number of team members on the day of your move.”
To avoid moving day delays, those behind the research suggested Friday home movers could insist on receiving the keys by 1pm, to avoid being stranded without keys until after the weekend.
They also suggested asking removal firms what would happen if there was a delay and whether they have emergency storage.