Making a House a Home: When is the best time to move?

You might be looking to buy your first home, or looking to upsize or downsize your second - but when exactly is the best time to move?

Before reading this, you might have thought spring was the most popular month to move homes, but recent research shows that summer is actually the most popular season to move. 29% of the UK decided to move during the warmer months, compared to just 23% in spring. 

July, in fact, is the most popular month to make the move across the UK, with Scotland, North East, North West, and the South West all making the move during this time. Whilst London and the South East and the East of England preferred August in hopes to be settled before the new school year. During this time, rental enquiries are at their highest level, with July and August being the 2nd and 1st ranked months for enquiries regarding property lettings in the year. 
Autumn was found to be the second most popular season, with 27% of people moving during this time. The research found that rental inquiries dropped to 71% in September and then a further 53% in October. September was the most common month for Wales and the East and West Midlands to move into their new abode.

Winter was the least popular season overall, with only 21% of people moving during this time. Possibly in efforts to avoid cold and bitter weather, many people would like to be settled in their new home before Christmas and the New Year. Despite being one of the most expensive times of year, Yorkshire and the Humber was the only region to commonly move during December. 

If you’re looking to keep your costs down, you may want to consider moving outside of the most popular months. 

England saw the sharpest rise overall, particularly from April to August, with prices fluctuating between 2.32% and 2.23%. England also had the highest rental price increases compared to Wales and Scotland.

If you live in Wales, you’re in luck - Wales had the lowest rental price increases, with July seeing the highest increase at just 0.67%. Scotland also remained below 2%, with the highest increase being seen in April at 1.15%.

Want more tips on Moving Home? Visit the Moving section on our blog where you’ll find a range of topics and we also have a handy moving house checklist that you can download. Or, discover our range of self storage options in over 125 locations – find your nearest store for a quote today.