When Is the Best Time To Move?

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If you’re moving, it’s likely that one of the very first things you need to decide is when you’ll be making the trip. You probably already have an idea in mind about when you’d like to move, but is there a date that’s actually the best option?

We’ve determined that the best time to move is when moving companies are the least busy and you can have the lowest-stress move possible. This also coincides with the cheapest time of the year to move.

The answer: The best and cheapest time to move is during the off-seasons of spring and fall, mid-month, in the middle of the week, and during the morning hours.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at what makes that the optimal time to move.

In this article:

What Determines When the Best Time To Move Is, Anyway?

There are a lot of factors at play, for sure! And what’s best for one person might be troublesome for somebody else. For example, you may have no choice but to schedule a move during a certain window, thanks to a conflict with your job, school, or childcare.

However, what typically constitutes a good time to move includes if a move will be cheaper, there’s less demand, the weather is mild, and there are enough homes on the market to rent or buy without trouble. 

Whether you can be flexible about your moving schedule or not, here’s the breakdown about when and why the best time of the move is…well, the best.

The best season to move: spring and fall

As mentioned earlier, choosing the right time of year to move is about balancing decent weather, free time, and cost. The “offseason” is the best time of the year to move, meaning the spring months of March, April, and May or the fall months of September, October, and November. And here’s more on what makes each season a good (or bad) choice to pick for your moving date:

  • Spring: In most parts of the country, the weather is fairly mild during the spring. There may still be rain, but you probably don’t have to worry about getting rid of snow and ice before the moving truck arrives. It’s also just before the busiest moving season, so you shouldn’t have too much trouble with scheduling or cost. 
  • Summer: Not surprisingly, many people choose to move in the summer. There’s less chance of bad weather, and if you have kids, you don’t have to worry about planning your move around school hours. In fact, about 60% of annual relocations occur between May and August. Unfortunately, moving companies know this and often charge a premium during the summer months. You’ll also want to consider how hot it gets where you’re traveling — if you’re transporting heat-sensitive items such as art supplies or plants, it’s really not the ideal time to move.
  • Fall: As the days begin to cool, so does the demand for moving services. You’ll likely find better deals around this time, as well as generally mild weather. However, if you or your kids are in school, it may be tough to schedule around back-to-school season.
  • Winter: This is probably the cheapest time of year for moving — and with good reason. Unless you’re lucky enough to live in a city where it’s sunshine almost year-round, like Los Angeles or Miami, you’ll be faced with freezing temps and snowy conditions. On the plus side, it’s a slow time for real estate, so you might find some home prices that are real steals.

The best part of the month to move: mid-month

About a third of the country rents their homes, and the typical renter moves every two to three years. That’s a lot of moving around! And thanks to most leases beginning early on in the month, the first and last weeks are super busy for moving companies

Depending on the terms of your lease, you might not have any flexibility about scheduling your move. But if you do have some wiggle room, aiming for the middle of the month is best. Movers will have more availability, and you’ll probably pay less of a premium for their services. That also means you’ll want to reverse-engineer your moving checklist appropriately, since prepping should begin six weeks before the move date.

See prices for local moving labor. Read real customer reviews. Easily book your help online.

Best day to move: weekdays

As you might guess, the most popular part of the week to move is the weekend. People often have time off from work, and so does any friends or family helping them out with the move.

 

“…about 60% of annual relocations occur between May and August. Unfortunately, moving companies know this and often charge a premium during the summer months.”

 

Of course, not only are popular times more expensive, but the slots for mover availability fill up fast on the weekends too, meaning you might not be able to find local movers who are available on the particular weekend you want. Worst-case scenario, you may need to rearrange your move date. 

So if you have the option, choosing a moving day of Monday through Thursday is much better. The earlier in the week, the better.

Best time of day to move: morning

When it comes to the actual move day, earlier is better for a number of reasons.

First, your movers are more likely to show up on time. They won’t have any jobs to complete before yours, so there’s less chance of a delay. If you wait until the afternoon, you’re reliant on the first move of the day going smoothly and efficiently to keep everything on schedule. 

If you’re moving during a warmer season, starting the move early also means you and your movers don’t have to haul boxes when the sun is at its hottest. Plus a morning move means you’re into your new place that much sooner, giving you ample time to unpack and get settled. Look to get started around 8 am to 10 am — it’s an early start, but definitely worth it in the end. 

When is the cheapest time to move?

Following the guidelines above will help you find the easiest time to move, which also coincides with the slower seasons for moving companies. As a result, you are likely to get the cheapest moving deals during fall and spring when moving companies aren’t inundated with homebuying season customers.

FAQs

What determines the best time to buy or rent?

The best time to buy a house or start a lease on an apartment is not necessarily also the best time of year to move. 

The height of the homebuying season tends to take place in late summer and early fall, so the best home prices can be found closer to the end of the year

Meanwhile, rental prices tend to hit their lowest points around December through March

See prices for local moving labor. Read real customer reviews. Easily book your help online.

What is the best time to move into an apartment?

When apartment hunting, you can save money by signing a lease during non-peak times. Rentals are more popular in the summer months when parents don’t have to worry about interrupting their kids’ school schedules, and when college students are looking to secure housing before the next semester starts up in the fall. 

The longer an apartment sits on the market, the more likely it is that the owner will drop the rent to attract a tenant. So looking for an apartment after the seasonal rush — around December through March — will allow you to find better deals. The tradeoff is that there will be fewer units overall, so you may not find exactly what you’re looking for.

What is the best time to move into a home?

Prospective home buyers typically do their shopping in the summer months, when kids might have time off school and it’s easier to plan. So the best time to buy a house is typically after peak homebuying season, which is late summer or early fall. Buying a home during this off-season means you can still find plenty of homes on the market, deal with less competition, and find better prices.

And while you may be thinking this means waiting until the winter will give you more negotiating power, there will be fewer homes on the market then.  

Hidden Costs of Homeownership

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Hidden Costs of Homeownership Opening Image

My husband and I are currently looking to buy a home in Chicago (we know right where to find move help in Chicagoland)) and it’s been one heck of an emotional roller coaster. Excitement, fear, anxiety…let’s just say that making this big purchase is a bumpy ride.

While we have many must-haves for our new pad (2 bedrooms, quiet neighborhood, close to public transportation), by far the biggest factor is our BUDGET. (more…)

Neighbor Etiquette: How to Be a Good Neighbor

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Mister-Rogers

You just moved into your new home – the moving truck is gone, your boxes are unpacked, and you’re starting to feel settled in your new home! But there is still one more thing you need to complete on your moving checklist. It’s time to meet your neighbors!

Not many people enjoy making small talk with strangers, but that awkward conversation is an essential part of the moving process. If you introduce yourself within the first couple weeks of moving in, then you’re setting the tone for your relationship and reputation among the neighborhood. Being friendly from the start, can prevent hostility and bad-feelings down the road.

Moving 101 (more…)

3 Ways to Help Your Customer Streamline Their Move

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Lightening the Load

When a customer comes a-calling, he or she wants more than just our bodies. Yes, our customers want us for our minds too! We are the experts. We know what works, from the pack to the load to the unload.

But long before we pull the truck up to their door on move day we can start making things easier for all involved. Here are 3 suggestions. (more…)

Do Movers Charge Extra for Stairs?

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Do Movers Charge Extra for Stairs?

stairs

This question comes in all the time from people when they are getting ready to hire movers. It’s a great question to ask yourself as you prepare for those extra fees that always seem to pop up! However, after picking the brains of some of my veteran co-workers who have worked several years for HireAHelper and speaking with various other moving companies, I’ve discovered that most movers don’t charge extra for stairs, especially if you’re on the third floor or below.

It also depends on the region of the country you live in. For instance, the east coast has more movers who charge extra for stairs simply because so many of their customers live in high-rise apartments. As a girl from Nebraska, my first thought when hearing that some companies charge this extra fee was that it was just another way some moving companies try to gouge customers. But after imagining workers carrying couches and dressers down twenty flights of stairs, my heart softened a little for their choice to charge extra!

While there is no universal answer to this question, my best advice would be to ask each moving company about their particular stair policy. Another great resource is to check www.hireahelper.com as most of the helpers will specify in their description whether or not they charge for stairs. It makes it super easy to compare the different companies and their costs!

About the author: Victoria is a grad student in Nebraska, working for HireAHelper. She loves her dog and is incredibly happy at the arrival of summer!

(Photo courtesy of Oatsy40 (flickr.com/photos/dionhinchcliffe/))

How Much Does it Cost to Move?

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TL;DR – A move in town can cost between $200-$400 to rent a truck and hire loading help. A move across the country can cost upwards of $3,000-$8,500.

I almost feel silly writing an answer to such a big question in just one blog post, but it gets asked so often and searched for so frequently on the web that I felt compelled to offer some sort of guidance (read our more specific guide to New York moving costs here or price out your own move with our moving calculator). How much your move will cost depends mostly on how large your pile of stuff is and how far you’re moving it. So there’s a pretty wide range of answers to this question. The fact that we spend twice as much on moving as we do on ATM fees suggests that most Americans are spending too much on their move, unaware of the cheap moving options available right at their fingertips.

For example, moving a 2 bedroom apartment across town within Los Angeles can be done for $355 ($325 for 2 movers through HireAHelper for 5 hours of loading and unloading + $30 Budget moving truck). But if you’re moving out of town or out of state the price goes up. Or, if you’re moving anything more than a small apartment, the price goes up.

That said, this post looks at how much it would cost to move a specific sized home a specific distance. The cost of your move may vary from these estimates, but you can bet if your move is smaller or shorter, it should cost less and if it’s larger or farther, it will cost more.

This post is written to answer the following:

How much would it cost to move a 3 bedroom house (contents equaling 7,100 lbs) about 1,240 miles from Los Angeles, CA 90032 to Billings, MT 59101?

 

$3,700 (Option #1) Hire Loading Help + Reserve Professional Transportation

The cheapest way to move, a la carte, is also my personal favorite because it gives you more control over your stuff and more say over who’s doing the lifting, driving, and unloading (Oh, and I work for the most amazing loading and unloading help website in the world. So I’m a little biased). Hiring loading and unloading help through HireAHelper.com for a 3 bedroom house (about 7,100 lbs in stuff)  will cost about $940 (Breakdown: $470 for 4 helpers for 4 hours loading in Los Angeles and $470 for 4 helpers for 3 hours unloading in Billings, MT. Prices vary by location).

Reserving space on an ABF U-Pack Moving truck to move from LA to Billings is estimated to cost $2,791. You can also use a portable storage company like PODS or 1800Packrat to professionally transport your items across the country. Pricing might be even better through one of them, and they have some pretty amazing storage options in case you’re new house isn’t quite ready to move into.

$3,880 + gas (Option #2) – Hire Loading Help + Rent a Moving Truck

Similar to Option #1, this option is often called a “self-move.” You still hire local movers to load you through HireAHelper, but instead of having someone else transport your stuff, you’ve got to rent and drive a moving truck. You also have to fill it with gas. This option is more labor intensive on your part (long days driving, finding big parking spots, picking up & returning the truck, etc.) and costs more than option #1. The upside to this option is you are in direct control of your items at all times. You know exactly where they are at any given minute (because they’re directly behind you in the moving truck) and you have control over how long it takes. No waiting on delivery estimates from someone else. If your stuff doesn’t arrive to your new house on time, there’s only one person to blame.

$6,823 (Option #3) Full Service Mover or Vanline

The “simplest” way to go about moving across the country like this would be to call a big, national vanline. One with a long, reputable history as a pillar of the American economy. They’ve got agents all over the country and hundreds of trucks ready to move you anywhere, almost anytime. There are two GIGANTIC downsides to using a vanline for your move:

  1. Cost
    According to the moving cost calculator data, a full service move of this size is expected to run $6,823!
  2. Damaged or Lost Items
    According to a recent J.D. Power & Associates study, almost 1 in 3 customers of full-service moving companies reported broken or missing items during their move.

Moving Place Long Distance

Here you can have all 3 options we mentioned before in one company, all you need to do is choose how much budget or effort you want to put into your long distance move. Either “You Load, We Drive” or a regular Full service Move, you can get both quotes  and compare them with other long distance moving companies or traditional van lines.

Like we said, it largely depends on the size of your home and distance, but it’s definitely worth checking out here.

All that to say, your costs may be very different from the ones in this post. But at least now you know there are a few cheaper options. And if you happen to be doing that exact move, from Los Angeles to Billings or vice versa, let me know in the comments, and I’ll get you a discount on some loading & unloading help. Otherwise, lets talk on Google +.

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