Moving During A Pandemic?

For Week Ending December 5, 2020

The National Association of REALTORS® released a new report analyzing relocation trends during the pandemic. From March through October 2020, 8.9 million people moved according to the NAR’s analysis of USPS change-of-address data. While this sounds substantial, when comparing to the same period last year, only approximately 94,000 more people moved this year than a year ago. The biggest trend was people moving from large cities to surrounding suburbs, with those counties located closest to big cities seeing the highest relocation gains.

Single Family:

For the week ending December 5: • New Listings increased 44.9% to 100 • Pending Sales decreased 41.3% to 44 • Inventory decreased 33.2% to 1,164 For the month of November: • Median Sales Price increased 15.3% to $172,950 • Days on Market decreased 27.8% to 26 • Percent of List Price Received increased 3.1% to 100.9% • Months Supply decreased 30.0% to 2.1

CONDO AND TOWNHOUSE:

For the week ending December 5: • New Listings increased 33.3% to 4 • Pending Sales increased 100.0% to 4 • Inventory decreased 18.7% to 61 For the month of November: • Median Sales Price increased 38.2% to $169,250 • Days on Market increased 47.1% to 25 • Percent of List Price Received increased 2.7% to 101.3% • Months Supply decreased 8.0% to 2.3%.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has put a stop to the normal routines of everyday life both in the U.S. and abroad. And while social distancing is the course of action to take until told otherwise, moves aren’t always something that can wait. How does moving during a pandemic work though, and more importantly—are moving services even still available?

Below, we’ll outline some of the biggest questions about moving during the pandemic in an effort to help the process be as stress free as possible. We’ll also share some of the tips provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and our friends at the American Moving and Storage Association (AMSA) on how to keep yourself and others safe during your relocation.

What is COVID-19?

According to the World Health Organization, “COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.”

COVID-19 is not the first coronavirus, but rather a new strain in an existing group of coronaviruses that can circulate among both animals and humans. It is highly contagious and spreads from person-to-person through droplets from the nose or mouth, which is why social distancing measures are so important. As of the date of publication, there have been more than 15,900,000 cases and more than 298,000 deaths of COVID-19 in the United States.

What is Social Distancing?

Social distancing, also referred to as “physical distancing,” is one of the best defenses that we have against the spread of COVID-19. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines proper social distancing measures as requiring that you:

Stay six feet away from other people, aside from those who you live with

Do not gather in groups

Avoid mass gatherings and crowded areas

Limiting close contact with those outside of your immediate household mitigates the risk of coming into contact with COVID-19 droplets. These measures are particularly important in light of the fact that many carriers of COVID-19 are asymptomatic, meaning that they are carrying—and potentially spreading—the virus without awareness that they have it.

Is Moving Essential?

For many people, a moving date is not flexible. If you have a lease ending or if you previously sold or purchased a home with an upcoming closing date, it’s important that you have access to the critical services that can allow you to relocate. While cities and states across the country have ordered the temporary closure of “non-essential” businesses, moving is generally considered essential and moving service providers are currently operating in all states.

If you do have flexibility in your moving date, consider waiting—especially if you’re in a high-risk group. If you can’t postpone your move but are concerned about exposure, an option might be to move with your own vehicle or a rental truck, provided you’ll be able to lift and carry all of your belongings.

Note that the closure of non-essential businesses does vary by state, or sometimes even county or city. It’s possible that the orders are different in your locality, so it’s important to do your research. However, in states where lock-down orders have been put in place, moving companies are so far considered to be essential, and are still in operation.

Are Moving Services Still Available?

At this point, yes. We have not seen any notable shutdowns of service among major moving companies. That being said, decisions about closures may be left to individual franchise owners. If you have already scheduled your move and haven’t heard anything, assume that your moving company is still providing services unless told otherwise, but still call just to confirm.

If you’re worried about moving during an pandemic for a move that is still upcoming and for which you haven’t scheduled movers, it’s hard to say what will and will not be available in the months to come. For now, continue to do research on companies and ask directly what steps are being taken when you reach out.

What has changed at this point is largely going to be related to the customer experience itself, including frequent hand washing among movers and no physical contact between movers and clients.

For more local market specific data contact the experts at,

Integrated Real Estate. 315-522-3194