It has been a tumultuous year for the moving industry. When the country entered its first lockdown early in 2020, the government put a freeze on home moves in England for seven weeks, unless “reasonably necessary”. In July 2020, to “catalyse the housing market and boost confidence”, the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announced a stamp duty cut which saw house prices and mortgage borrowing hit all-time highs. The stamp duty holiday was due to end at the end of March 2021 but on the 3
rd March 2021 the chancellor announced that the stamp duty holiday would be extended for a further three months until the 30
th June 2021. We’ve just recently passed this date, so how will the market fare now that the current stamp duty holiday has ended and what affect will this have on the moving industry?
April slowdown
When the stamp duty holiday was originally due to end, statistics showed a fall in mortgage borrowing with net borrowing at £3.3bn - lower than the monthly average of £5.7bn borrowed in the six months to February. In fact, the previous month’s net borrowing had been a record breaking £11.5bn. Despite this, Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property data, expects market activity to remain strong for the rest of the year regardless of the stamp duty holiday ending.
The lifting of lockdown
This time, the end of the stamp duty holiday coincides with the reopening of the hospitality and travel industries and this could have a greater impact on the market. Tim Bannister said: “Buyer demand remains very strong… Since the market re-opened last May in England we have seen huge jumps in the numbers of sales being agreed, but these are now rising at a slower pace.”
The moving industry
With its success directly linked to trends in the UK property market, the moving industry is slowly recovering from this period of high volatility. And it is anticipated to improve over the next five years, recovering current-year losses caused by the pandemic. It may be limited in the short term, as uncertainty regarding the EU-UK relationship are anticipated to affect confidence. However, according to IBISWorld, demand should continue to increase once there is clarification on the conditions of the end of the transition period.
Moving house in 2021
The pandemic meant most of us spent more time than ever at home. We will have noticed all the little things about our home that we do or don’t like. Maybe there wasn’t enough space; you’re working from home now and need that home office. Perhaps you’ve been rattling around in a property that’s too big for you and you want a smaller property with a bigger garden. With confidence in the market continuing to grow, it might be time to take the plunge! At Packing Solution, we’ve got everything you need to make that move as smooth as possible. Our
moving packs contain a selection of boxes which are discounted and cheaper than buying the boxes individually. We have a wide range of
bubble wraps and
moving accessories, plus
moving boxes of all shapes and sizes for whatever you need.
