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Moving Pumps $170 Billion a Year Into the Economy

Home buyers and renters spend approximately $170 billion a year just by moving, according to a survey recently conducted by Move, Inc.
Examining nearly 40 purchase categories, the 2006 Mover Survey found that the average household spends nearly $9,000 on products and services directly linked to the move.
About half of moving-related expenditures are for household goods and services, including home decorating, improvement and repair. Movers spend 60% more on such purchases than non-movers.
The rest of the moving-related expenses are for switching to new merchants for services like banking, cable or satellite television, telephone service and Internet access. Movers also switch to new grocery stores, insurance companies, auto mechanics and pharmacies.
Analyzing the consumer timeline for purchasing move-related goods and services, the study by Move found that many buying decisions are clustered around the two weeks immediately before and after a move. The majority of people surveyed reported purchasing major appliances, home electronics, furniture, window treatments, bedding and linens, as well as home repair, lawn and garden and pest control supplies, within the first two weeks of moving in.
Move also spoke to home improvement retailers, utility providers, general retailers and other companies with the most to gain from the mover market and found that the majority of them market to a mass audience instead of targeting consumers at critical decision-making points in the moving process, ignoring a segment of the market that could offer a significant return on their investment.
Move.com is the official new homes Web site of NAHB.
Want to Know the Housing Starts Through 2015?
Find out in HousingEconomics.com’s Long-Term Forecast.
HousingEconomics.com includes downloadable Excel tables featuring the housing starts forecast, GDP, demographics and more.
To learn more, visit www.housingeconomics.com.
NAHB Kit Gives Builders Back-to-Basics Tips in Changing Market
With the current cooling of the nation’s housing market expected to persist into the middle of next year, NAHB has developed a comprehensive online toolkit geared to providing association members with information that will help them prosper in today’s changing business environment.
To access the “Back to Basics” toolkit, you must be an NAHB member and have a login to www.nahb.org. To create a login, go to www.nahb.org/login or click on the log-in button on the main menu bar.
For assistance, call the NAHB Member Service Center at 800-368-5242.
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