SWFL moving companies see higher demand, longer wait times for customers

If you’re planning to move, you’ll need to book movers far in advance.

Several movers said their services are fully booked until November, and it all comes down to the current climate of the housing market in Southwest Florida.

More people are buying homes right now and need help. We’ve been getting tips from many telling us they need help with their move but can’t find any.

More than a dozen moving companies said they’re seeing a boom in business. One explained what’s fueling the massive demand and what can be done to get help sooner rather than later.

The boom in the local real estate market is leading to a boom in other local businesses.

“In April, we did X amount of money last year,” said Marcus Givens, the director of operations for College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving in Fort Myers. “And then the amount that we did this year, we were up 157%.”

Givens said the demand for movers comes largely from the massive influx of people relocating to our area.

“Somebody will drop down from Michigan, New York, New Jersey; they just need us to unload a truck,” he said. “We’ve been running into, in the last month, a lot of these people going into storage because they don’t have anywhere to stay. They don’t know where they’re going to move.”

Some Realtors said their inventory is low, so they haven’t noticed the struggle to find moving help. Instead, they said they’re seeing longer waiting times for things such as inspectors, appraisers and appointments with title companies.

“I have a guy that has a move in three days of the 17th,” Givens said. “His house just got pushed back an entire month. So now he’s waiting for his move for an entire month because his contractors are behind. They didn’t have the supplies they needed in order to complete the build.”

The boom in business has also allowed the College Hunks moving company in Fort Myers to grow. The number of employees and trucks have both gone up.

Givens isn’t sure if or when the demand will slow down.

“I’m operations manager, I’m normally trying to put out fires, stay in the office, make sure everything’s going good,” Givens said. “I’m jumping out on the trucks. The general manager is jumping out on the trucks. We have other managers having to go out on the trucks.”

Givens said his company is only booked out until the end of May but the best time to find moving help is in the middle of the month because most people either move at the end or the beginning.

He also said much of the demand is on weekends, and you might have better luck finding moving help on weekdays.