Having worked in the property industry for many years now, I’ve come to a realisation – Britain is a nation of superstitious homebuyers. It’s a well-known fact in the industry that trying to get movers to complete on Friday 13th is a tough feat (and the completion figures back it up). Not only that, but we did a bit a digging around recently (to get in the Halloween spirit) to see if there are any other strange goings-on in the market.
It turns out – there is.
We found that there are about 3,000 movers a year (and possibly more) that choose a property with the same house number as the one they’re moving from.** Whether it’s sheer coincidence, or whether people are actively looking for a particular number, it’s really quite interesting to see who is doing it.
The main culprits are our 30-49 year old movers (our second-steppers and middle-movers).
Given that we already know that 83% of movers feel emotionally attached to their properties, it’s not surprising that second-steppers and middle-movers are looking to recreate elements of their current property in their next; and moving to the same house number is one way of doing it.†
What is clear is that when it comes to moving up the property ladder, movers are creatures of habit and will rarely stray far from what they know and recognise, whether it be the same house number, postcode or the feeling they get from the property itself. We also know that 70% of all home moves move less than 20 miles away from their current property, so the two combined shows that buyers feel some degree of safety and comfort in what they already know.*†
Even though from our figures it’s quite a small number of movers a year that are moving to the same house number, the lesson we can learn from it is arguably the most important in our industry.
Know your customer.
It’s the bottom line and the be all and end all. In the words of Stevie Wonder, movers are crying out “Rid me of [my] problems, do all that you can. Keep me in a daydream, keep me goin’ strong.”
As an industry we sometimes forget to look at the emotional motivators for buyer behaviour, but by truly getting to know our customers and their quirks, we can work together to help them into their dream home.
Our customers and clients want the best moving experience possible, and we can only deliver it by truly knowing their wants and needs.
Have you had any strange requests from a customer? Let us know.
*Stevie Wonder, Talking Book (1972)
**Methodology: Analysis of My Home Move Management Information on joint Sale and Purchase Cases (11% of all My Home Move’s cases, January 2013-July 2017), circa. 2% of which showed the same house number, compared to HMRC UK Property Transactions data to reach the national figure.
†My Home Move Press Release (June 2017) – Could ‘Property Attachment’ theory explain ‘downsizer’ shortage?
*†My Home Move Press Release (June 2016) – British home movers are a nation of ‘homebodies’ new research reveals