Around 1.4 million households are within various stages of the homemover journey, a rise of +15% compared with the start of 2024, data from property analytics firm TwentyCi has shown.
This significant increase indicates a growing level of transactions for 2025 and signals that retailers should expect a rise in demand for furniture and other big-ticket purchases as homemovers style their properties.
The data was gathered as part of TwentyCi’s latest Property & Homemover Report.
Following two interest rate cuts last year, demand volumes for properties (measured as sales agreed) increased by +17% to 1,248,364 in 2024 compared to 1,063,878 in 2023, with growth over the whole of the UK, and across all property price brackets.
Further analysis showed the number of properties for sale reached their highest level in six years, reflecting an +8% annual increase, averaging 425k per quarter.
The buoyant residential property market outlook is also accompanied by an improvement in consumer confidence. According to the BDO High Street Sales Tracker, homeware purchases in December 2024 grew by +11.4% from a base of -1.6% for the same month in 2023. Meanwhile, the latest consumer confidence survey showed growth in terms of the personal financial outlook, bolstered by wage growth of +5.2% in October 2024 and inflation adjustments.
Colin Bradshaw, CEO at TwentyCi, says: “Our data shows there’s currently a lot of optimism and stability in the housing market, as demonstrated by the +15% YoY rise in the number of households who are now at one of the various stages of their homemover journey.
“For retailers, this creates opportunity because homemovers’ purchasing needs are immediate and substantial, spanning multiple categories from big-ticket items to everyday essentials.
“The predictability of homemover spending is three times higher than that of non-movers, making this audience one of the most valuable for retailers. TwentyCi identifies the best time to market to consumers before or after their move and believes movers (whether buyers or tenants) are three times more likely to purchase certain goods. By leveraging first-party data, and addressing evolving consumer priorities, retailers can turn this audience into loyal customers.”
