What a year 2021 was! Pandemic, lockdowns, a lot of uncertainty and also a lot of movement! In between, we continued to move our customers – safely!
The majority of our domestic moves were local and national across the UK. But we also moved a significant number of customers across the channel to Europe – France and Spain most of all. Here in the UK, we saw a high number of house moves to the countryside from larger urban areas and cities. From Cornwall to Scotland, and everywhere in between.
Buyer lifestyle changes
‘Lifestyle changes are still prevalent, and buyers are now looking to a future which is very different from the one they envisioned two years ago. The search for green space, home offices and more flexible living is a trend that is unlikely to diminish before the new year,’ according to Which? website.
The UK property market saw a significant boost with the government’s stamp duty holiday that was extended. That kept us super busy moving our customers all the way up to the Christmas break.
“Brilliant removal service from Shires. They arrived a day before the move to start loading up, then carried on all the next day from about 8-7 (it was a full lorry), and even called for back-up from another team who had finished earlier, to help with unloading.
They were really careful with all items, no damage and even helped to fix some of our furniture where screws etc had come loose prior to loading onto the lorry.
Really polite and friendly too, would definitely recommend.” – Trustpilot
What’s in store for 2022?
‘While Covid continues to have an ever-changing impact, we’re starting to see signs of a return to traditional norms, including seasonal fluctuations in house prices’, says Rightmove.
For the domestic property market, 2022 will remain a strong sellers’ market.
Buyer demand
According to Rightmove, ‘If you do decide to sell your home in the new year, your chances of a finding a buyer are very high, as we’re still seeing huge levels of buyer demand, and not enough homes available to buy’.
‘Despite this month’s seasonal price fall, we expect asking prices to rise by another 5% in 2022. The good news is there should be some fresh property choice coming to market in 2022, as “new year resolution sellers” look to take advantage of the traditional Boxing Day bounce in buyer demand’.
Slower prices rises will provide some respite to prospective first-time buyers, who might find they have a better chance of getting on to the property ladder in a less frenzied environment.
Covid-safe removals service
We continue to remain vigilant for any new updates on the covid situation. Most importantly, our removals teams are fully covid-compliant.
For a recent commercial move we carried out for a Care Home group, our whole team were triple-vaccinated before working on the premises. This ensured the safety of its residents, and peace of mind for all staff and our teams.
Looking beyond early 2022
According to early indications, the status of the pandemic, conditions in the residential property market and business confidence are likely to remain dominant factors affecting demand.
There is initial hope that a stronger than expected economic recovery from the pandemic and other factors is expected to support strong business and consumer confidence in the medium term, according to research polls.
Throughout all the dramatic changes of the past two years in a world dominated by Covid, we have quickly adapted and adjusted to the ‘new normal’ way of working. And throughout we have managed to fulfil our customer’s moves whenever it was clear to do so.
Home Moves. Office Moves. Business Moves.
Whether you are moving house or office, nationally or internationally, our friendly and helpful staff aim to make the move as easy and stress free as possible.
Our head office is located in Kinsley, near Pontefract and Wakefield, West Yorkshire, UK but we cater for moves all over the country whether you are moving a few miles or a few hundred miles. Our representatives can visit you at your home to discuss your moving requirements, with no charge and with no obligation to use us.
We provide Local, National and International Removals, Packing, and Storage services to Domestic and Commercial customers.
You find a place, and we’ll take you there!
