Current State of Moving During COVID-19

It has been a roller coaster four-months with the outbreak of COVID-19. The moving industry was considered an essential service by the Government. What’s the current state of moving during Covid-19?

 

Although there were not as many people as previous years buying, selling, and moving, the demand has still been there for moving services. The moving industry has been steady and picking up slightly, but nothing like previous years. Burly Boyz Moving & Storage implemented a COVID-19 policy and temporarily discontinued its community box program (free boxes for Edmonton and area clients). Our priority is to ensure that we have the right safety measures in place for our staff and our customers.

We implemented teams of movers to work together during the pandemic to ensure all measures are being made to limit our exposure while on the job. Trucks are picked up remotely with a pre-assigned team, pre-loaded with sanitization materials and proper PPE (masks and gloves). Our teams are conscious of their efforts in providing a quick and clean move, with the same Burly Boyz quality people have grown to trust. We send our customers an email a week prior to their move asking if they (or their family members) have travelled within the past 14 days, are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, causing a postponement of moving services.

How does the rest of 2020 look like?

Great question! This is very difficult to say due to the uncertainties revolving COVID-19 and the economy. The pandemic has far-reaching implications for all aspects of our economy (Unemployment rate, Oil Industry, CERB, second wave of COVID-19, etc.).

Are people still moving?

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board by the second half of March, sales slowed, causing a decline in the monthly number of home sales. Prices of homes in 2020 are expected to decline by nearly three per cent. Total sales in June is down year over year 13.76%, and new listings are up 10.70%

The Realtors Association of Edmonton shows the real estate market is increasing. For June 2020 it increased 13.69% compared to the same time last year and increased 77.27% from May 2020. New listings are up month over month by 20.22%. Prices have declined in June.

With the decline of home prices, some potential home buyers are waiting to see how low they will go before they make a purchase. It’s definitely a buyer’s market.

Moving in Canada

Even though Alberta was the province hardest hit by COVID-19 and the 2020 Russia-Saudi Arabia oil price war people are still moving to Alberta. In the first quarter of 2020, net migration increased 1.7% over the previous year.

BC saw a decrease of 36.6% and Ontario decreased by 25.6%.

 

Mortgage Rates

According to Mark Panizzon of MP Mortgage Group, the Bank of Canada will be holding the target rate steady until inflation sustainably hits 2%. This means that interest rates will remain low for a very long time, at least two years. To see the current mortgage rates in Alberta visit Brokers for Life, one of our valued partners.

According to the Bank of Canada, “Some activities, including motor vehicle sales, have already seen a strong pickup since April. Likewise, housing activity fell sharply during the lockdown but is beginning to recover quickly. In contrast, some of the hardest-hit businesses, such as restaurants, travel and personal care services, have only just started to see improvements in recent weeks and are expected to continue to face significant challenges.”

The housing market is contributing to the recovery of the economy which in turn means that moving companies will see an increase in business. Book your move at least a month prior to your move or as soon as you know.

Get an honest upfront quote from our Burly Boyz team today. For a limited time 30% off all packing materials.