Halloween was the most popular day to move house in 2025, breaking the long-standing trend of summer being the busiest time for home moves. We analysed the data and spoke to industry experts to understand why the peak moving day has shifted and why it fell on an international holiday.
Compare My Move reviewed more than 170,000 house moves made in 2025 and found that Halloween was the single most popular moving day of the year, with just under 2,500 people relocating on October 31st. October also emerged as the busiest month overall, marking a notable change from previous years when summer months traditionally dominated the moving calendar.
The main reason why October overtook the summer months in 2025 and why Halloween became the most popular moving day was a shift in buying behaviour, with more people purchasing homes in late summer rather than the early summer period we typically see. Below are some of the key factors that contributed to this change in 2025.
Spring Stamp Duty Changes
At the end of March, the temporary stamp duty relief came to an end, meaning homebuyers returned to paying full stamp duty rates from April 1st. This triggered two immediate effects: a surge in completed moves in March, with activity up 50% compared to March 2024, followed by a sharp slowdown once the relief ended. In fact, there was a 31.5% drop in movers between March and April.
This spike and subsequent lull delayed the usual summer rush, pushing buyer activity into late summer and early autumn instead. As a result, September and October saw a noticeable increase in completed moves.
Falling Bank Rates
Between the start and end of 2025, the Bank Rate fell by one percentage point, following a steady downward trend throughout the year. One of the most significant moments came in August, when the rate dropped to 4%, its lowest level since March 2023.
This milestone likely encouraged buyers who had been holding off earlier in the year to move forward in late summer, having waited for borrowing costs to reach that level. As a result, this surge in buying activity would have translated into a higher number of completions and moves during the autumn months.
Why Halloween?
We have established why October stood out as the busiest month for moving house in 2025, but why did Halloween become the most popular moving day? Dave Sayce, co-founder and managing director of Compare My Move, explains:
“The fact that Halloween was the most popular day to move house has nothing to do with the holiday itself and everything to do with when it fell. Fridays are the most popular day for moving, accounting for 28% of all moves last year. This is because key services such as solicitors and banks are still operating, while movers also have the weekend ahead to unpack and settle in.
“The end of the month is also typically a busy time for completions, as many transactions are structured to finish then. Completing at month-end helps align mortgage repayments with the start of the following month, which is particularly useful for people paid at the end of the month. It also helps movers avoid paying overlapping monthly costs from the previous month.”
