When is the best day to move house? The truth about moving day myths

TGIF (Time to Go, It's Friday)! Or perhaps not?

When you're thinking of moving house and want to set a completion date, which day do you think of? It's probably a Friday, because most people want to limit that time-off from traditional Monday to Friday jobs, taking the weekend to get unpacked and as settled in as they can in the time.

And what about the busiest day for moving in the year? Surely, received wisdom is that it's the final Friday in August each year, so demand for removals and legal expertise are at their premium? That's got to be right, because it's a time when a lot of workers take time off in the summer holidays, it's just before the new school year begins, and the days are longer and lighter giving the impetus to get prepared before life gets busier and darker again, hasn't it?

Not so, according to property data insight firm TwentyCi, who have looked at the deep data regarding the patterns for moving across the year. In fact, looking over the data for the previous five years (and accepting that the data is skewed because of the pandemic lockdowns (2020) and the stamp duty holiday (2021)), the last Friday in August has only been in the top five choices once (2024).

What TwentyCi's examination of the data also showed is that all except one of the busiest moving days across the five years is the last working day of the month - although the month of choice is spread across the year. This comes as little surprise since it is traditionally the day when people are paid and they have access to the money to assist with the moving process.

Which months are actually busiest for house moves?

Interestingly, too, August has proven not to be even the busiest month (irrespective of the year), coming in at seventh place behind June, March, September, December, November and then October. However, the skewing of the stamp holiday and the pandemic does paint that different picture. Factoring those out, then August just comes in at top place.

As for whether Friday is the most popular day to move house, TwentyCi's data exploration confirms that suspicion, with that day of the week far out in front of the rest of the week, followed by Thursday, Wednesday and then Monday.

Understanding the completion chain process

While there are very good reasons for choosing a Friday to move in, as highlighted above, the popularity has some other important considerations too.

If everyone is thinking about completing on a Friday and you're in a property chain, you might have to bend to the will of the majority or fear holding others in the chain up.

However, equally important is understanding what happens at completion when you are somewhere along the chain: Starting at opening of business in the morning, the first transaction will be communicated between the respective buyer and seller conveyancing solicitors, and who will confirm the transfer and receipt of the necessary funds before moving on to the next link in the chain, and so on down the links until your buyer and your solicitors sort out the sale of your property before then dealing with the purchase of your next home with your seller's solicitor.

The Friday completion risk

Even in these days of technology to support these transfers, because of the legal requirements and tying up any loose ends, the whole process can feel bewilderingly slow and, if you are towards the end of the long chain, there may even be a cut-off point which means that you can't complete until the next business day.

The next business day usually conforms to the traditional Monday to Friday working week, which means failure to complete the transaction on the Friday transfers to the start of the Monday… and you've lost the weekend you'd planned to get yourself sorted.

Cost savings on non-Friday house moves

When it comes down to it, the simple economics that come in to play means that the various services for the moving day (Friday) will be more expensive because of the increased demand for removal services and property professionals.

Breaking the property chain strategy

If you are in a chain, you might also want to think about breaking that chain if you are able to do so and can afford it. To do this, you might decide to put your belongings in storage for a period and live with friends or family, or rent a place temporarily, so that your completion date for the purchase of your next home is separate and not contingent on the successful sale of your former home. Effectively, this puts you at the end and the start of each chain.

Choosing a different day of the week, then, means the removals and any work required at the new property (for example, fitting a new boiler, putting up a television aerial on the roof, and so on) can be handled separately and not be linked necessarily to the successful chain-link completion.

Friday is no longer the fashion but a learned habit in some ways, so choosing a different day of the week is not only quite novel but might make more financial sense in the long run.

It'll take a bit more organisation but perhaps the lower levels of stress will be a more attractive proposition than the alternative.

Whichever day you decide is best for your move, Homeward Legal's conveyancing solicitors can help manage the legal aspects with fixed-price quotes and a 'no completion, no fee' promise.

Call for a conveyancing quote or use our online quote generator.