What Mortgage Bankers Need to Know About Peak Moving Seasons

If you're working with buyers relocating over the summer, you're operating at the intersection of two stressful life events: finalizing a mortgage and planning a move. While those processes may be managed by different professionals, your client only sees one experience. That means problems with moving timelines— especially during the busiest months— can bleed into the overall mortgage process.

Peak moving season often overlaps with peak lending activity, especially in markets with high family relocation rates. If you're closing loans between May and August, it's worth understanding how the timing and availability of professional movers can affect your borrower’s stress level, scheduling options and overall satisfaction with the home-buying experience.

At NationalExpress Move, we’ve partnered with numerous professionals in the real estate and mortgage space to help coordinate their client’s moves. Our experience has taught us that even if you're not directly coordinating the move dates, being aware of these kinds of common pressures allows you to proactively communicate, offer realistic expectations and strengthen your referral network with providers who can help clients navigate tight timelines.

When Is Peak Moving Season?

The busiest window for moves is May through August, with June and July seeing the highest volume nationwide. This timing aligns with school breaks, job relocations and real estate closing trends.

According to the Wall Street Journal, supply chain and logistics operators across the country are now bracing for earlier and more intense seasonal demand, which is something that is mirrored in the moving industry. Movers begin filling their summer calendars as early as late March in some regions. Once those dates are booked, families often have to accept alternate move days, temporary storage solutions or longer transition timelines between homes.

The seasonal surge also has regional nuances. In cold-weather markets, the window for moves is shorter due to weather limitations. In high-growth cities, local capacity may be maxed out even earlier than national averages. These nuances are especially important to understand if you work in a market that sees a lot of inbound or outbound relocation activity.

Roughly 50% of all moves in the U.S. happen during a concentrated 12-week peak window— with the remaining 50% spread across the other 40 weeks of the year. Our Vice President, Paul Gregory, compares  it to flying over Thanksgiving: Everyone knows prices spike and seats fill fast. We accept that reality with airlines, but when it comes to moving, many families are caught off guard by the seasonal surge in both cost and limited availability.

What This Means for Your Clients

Buying a home is already complex. Add a high-pressure move during peak season, and your borrower may be dealing with decision fatigue, rising costs and shifting timelines that affect closing readiness. Here’s how these peak months create unique stressors:

1. Movers Book Up Fast

Reliable moving companies typically book four to six weeks in advance during peak season. For families under contract to close in mid-June, this means securing a mover by early May at the latest. Last-minute availability is scarce, and often more expensive.

2. Higher Moving Costs

Demand drives price. A summer move can cost hundreds more than a winter move of the same size and distance. It’s important to keep in mind that your clients may not factor it into their overall moving budget. Unexpected moving costs can tip the scale for borrowers already stretching to meet down payments, closing costs and new-home expenses.

3. Chain Reaction Delays

If a mover can’t show up on closing day, the client may need to adjust their move-out date, storage plans or lease term. These changes can impact not just the buyer, but also sellers, landlords and service providers. That ripple effect can bring loan timelines under pressure, especially if final walk-throughs or occupancy deadlines are tied to specific move dates.

4. Emotional Load

Summer relocations often coincide with job changes, school transfers or major life events. The sheer volume of tasks (packing, utilities, forwarding mail, managing kids) adds weight to your borrower’s experience. Even if everything on the mortgage side goes smoothly, a chaotic moving experience can affect how they perceive the whole homebuying process. This can lead to complications for you— like fewer referrals or bad reviews. 

Being aware of these seasonal dynamics can help you respond with more empathy, more preparation and potentially more satisfied clients.

Where People Are Moving… and Why It Matters

If you’ve noticed more clients moving into (or out of) your area lately, you’re not imagining it. Domestic migration patterns have shifted significantly over the last few years, and some regions are seeing rapid growth as a result.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that states like Texas and Florida continue to lead the nation in inbound migration, while high-cost states like California and New York are experiencing net population losses. These trends affect everything from local housing supply to loan volume across regions.

For mortgage bankers, this has two implications:

• If you’re based in a high-growth area, your summer pipeline may include more long-distance buyers who need extra time and guidance to coordinate their move and closing.

• If you’re supporting outbound clients, especially from states seeing population declines, you may be fielding more questions about multi-state timelines or how to coordinate financing when someone is moving across the country.

Even seniors are part of this shift. AP reports that Myrtle Beach, South Carolina had the fastest-growing 65-and-older population in the country this past year, with a 6.3% increase. If you serve retirement-age borrowers, their relocation timelines may also fall during peak moving months.

How You Can Help Clients Prepare

You don’t need to be a moving expert to guide your clients through peak season planning. Just a few thoughtful practices can make a big difference:

Start the Moving Conversation Early

As soon as you know a client is planning a summer closing, encourage them to start researching movers. A simple reminder ("Have you looked into availability yet?") can nudge them to act before it's too late.

Educate Around Budgeting

Flag that moving costs are often higher in the summer, especially for long distance moves. If your client is already stretching their finances, this early heads-up can help them allocate accordingly.

Recommend Trusted Providers

While you don’t need to push one company, having a shortlist of reputable options— especially those with nationwide coverage— can help borrowers avoid scams or unreliable movers. If you have experience working alongside moving providers who communicate clearly and stay on schedule, it’s worth passing that along. We here at NationalExpress Move (powered by National Van Lines) pride ourselves on just that; we also know that we’re one of multiple powerful choices you can make for your business goals and objectives. 

Build in Flexibility

If timelines allow, work with your client’s real estate agent to build in a little buffer around closing and occupancy. This is especially helpful if the borrower is moving long distance and relying on multiple vendors to stay aligned.

The Role Moving Logistics Can Play in Mortgage Planning

It’s easy to think of moving day as something that happens after the mortgage closes. But in reality, moving logistics often intersect with occupancy deadlines, loan disbursement timing and home readiness.

A delay in one area can affect the others. That’s why professionals across the real estate and lending world are starting to take a more holistic view of the homebuying experience… including the relocation piece. While you don’t need to be hands-on with the move itself, understanding what your client may be up against lets you plan, communicate and support more effectively.

NationalExpress Move is an option that can offer coordinated support for long distance relocations— but, we understand we are one of many. No matter who you partner with, what matters most is that your client works with a provider who is communicative, reliable and available within the window they need to move. Sharing that insight early can help them avoid unnecessary headaches later.

A Smarter Peak Season Starts with Better Planning

When summer ramps up, so do the moving vans, and the challenges your clients might face along the way. As a mortgage professional, simply being aware of those seasonal pressures can make a difference in how you guide conversations, set expectations and help buyers feel supported from start to finish. Whether your clients are relocating across town or across state lines, encouraging early planning and connecting them with trustworthy resources gives them one less thing to worry about during a hectic time. A smooth moving process is crucial to your clients, and your insights can make it that much better for them. 

You’ve just learned about how to empathetically and proactively approach peak season. Now, keep your momentum going with our article about how to maintain thriving client relationships… no matter the time of year.