Over 1.5 million UK households are currently wanting to move, moving soon, moving now, just moved or are settling in to their new home according to the latest Property & Homemover Report from property data and insight specialist, TwentyCi.

In comparison to 2019, there has been a 27% uplift in households Wanting to Move, a 32% rise in those Moving Soon, a 47% increase in those Moving Now, a 26% increase in households that have Just Moved, but a drop of 38% across those households Settling In; although this is set to rise significantly as the households in the preceding categories progress through the moving journey.   

The data also shows that the property market is maintaining momentum against last quarter’s record high with over 380,000 households still Wanting to Move. Moving Now and Just Moved households have experienced 85% and 165% increases respectively since Q3 2020, which reflects the uplift seen in last quarter’s Wanting to Move households.  

Colin Bradshaw, Chief Customer Officer at TwentyCi commented: “The importance of this group of consumers to removers and storage companies is critical,” said Colin Bradshaw, Chief Customer officer at TwentyCi. “Harnessing the data for targeted marketing campaigns will bring significant gains as these are customers that are actively in the market. Consequently, understanding where they are in the moving journey means you can reach them at just the right moment.” 

Other key findings include: 

• There are currently 550,000 property sales agreed, these are up 10% year-on-year;
• New instructions in 2020 remained level at 1.6 million;
• Exchanges are currently down by 5% in comparison to 2019, as a result of COVID restrictions and demand for conveyancing outstripping supply, but a rush of completions is expected as home movers look to expedite the conveyancing process to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline;
• Price changes and withdrawals dropped by 17% and 9% respectively reflecting market buoyancy where demand is outstripping supply;
• The average asking price is now £375,000 an increase of 8% since 2019; 
• The Midlands has recorded the highest increase in house prices (12%); 
• The East of England has experienced the highest year-on-year sales volume change with an increase of 21%;
• Detached houses are the most popular type of residence with a year-on-year sales volume increase of almost a quarter;
• The lettings sector has softened significantly seeing a fall of close to 10%.