Dhiresh Hirani, Head of Marketing at reallymoving.com, explains what this means for your removals business.
The UK home moving market has shifted dramatically over the past three years.
For removal companies, that means evolving customer expectations, new booking patterns, and changing job profiles - all against a tougher economic backdrop where movers demand more, while being increasingly cost-conscious.
In this article, we lift the lid on the key trends shaping the home removals industry, and how you can respond to win more of the right customers, in the right places, at the right time.
The rise (and shift) of the upsizer
During the pandemic, upsizers dominated housing market activity during the ‘race for space’, seeking home offices, gardens and more flexible living space, particularly with the rise of hybrid working.
That rush ended in 2022, as mortgage rates started to climb, eating into affordability and forcing households to “hunker down”, rather than move up the ladder and increase their debt. In the last year, however, we have seen upsizer market share steadily recover, as mortgage rates ease and they currently account for 67.8% of all home moves.
If your business thrives on larger-scale moves, upsizers are still the high-value customers worth targeting. Our data shows that Northern Ireland (76.8%), Scotland (75.9%), and the North East (72.7%) currently have the highest concentration of upsizers.
For removal firms, upsizers typically mean larger jobs, longer load times, multi-van moves, and longer distances. Many are relocating out of major cities such as London and Manchester to larger homes in more affordable regions. These customers are ideal for companies offering full-service moves with packing, storage, and flexible scheduling.
Percentage of upsizing home moves by UK regions
Using statistics from reallymoving user quotes, we have been able to track what percentage of the buyers in the UK housing market are upsizing to a more expensive property. We can also see which areas of the UK have the highest percentage of upsizers ...
Click here to read the full story in The Mover magazine.
