How a house move is priced
Local moves — usually within the same metro area — are quoted on time. A crew arrives with a truck, and the price is the hourly rate multiplied by the number of movers, plus the truck, with a minimum of a few hours. The honest version of “what will it cost” is therefore “how many movers, and how many hours”.
Long-distance moves are priced differently: by the weight of the shipment and the mileage, or on a flat price built from a room-by-room inventory. With either method the inventory has to be right before you sign, because a list written over the phone is where most surprises start.
A written quote should state the crew size, the truck space reserved, what is included — furniture wrap, boxes, disassembly and reassembly — what costs extra, such as stairs, long carries or specialty items, and the minimum charge. If a quote is one number with no scope, it is a guess wearing a price tag.
What actually moves the number
These are the details that separate a two-hour job from a six-hour one. They are listed roughly in order of how much they change a home move.
- Biggest effect
Home size and inventory
A studio and a four-bedroom house are different jobs: more rooms mean more boxes, more furniture to wrap and a larger truck. The most accurate quotes come from a room-by-room inventory rather than a bedroom count.
Measured a room-by-room inventory
- Biggest effect
Stairs, elevators and long carries
Walk-up floors, a building elevator that has to be reserved, or a truck parked far from the door all add time and people. Tell us the floor and the distance from door to curb when you request the quote so it is priced once, not on the day.
Measured per flight of stairs or 50 feet of carry
- Biggest effect
Packing and materials
Full packing adds crew hours plus boxes, tape, paper and mattress bags. Partial packing, covering glassware, art, mirrors, mattresses and the kitchen, is the middle path most households choose.
Measured by room packed
- Moderate effect
Today's dates
The end of a month, weekends and the summer season are the busiest days of the year, so the same house can price higher then. Mid-week and mid-month dates have the most room in the schedule.
Measured by move date
- Moderate effect
Distance and travel
Same-metro moves are usually billed by the hour plus the truck, while long-distance moves are priced by shipment weight and mileage. Either way, the drive between the two doors and the trip from our yard to your street count.
Measured by mileage or shipment weight
- Moderate effect
Specialty and oversized items
Pianos, gun safes, pool tables, large aquariums and gym equipment need extra people, a stair dolly or a specialty service. Flag them before the quote so the crew and equipment match the job.
Measured per item
- Small effect
Parking, permits and access
A narrow downtown street, a loading zone that needs a city permit or a steep driveway adds time to every trip between the truck and the door, and sometimes needs a smaller shuttle truck.
Measured by access at each address
How to compare two moving quotes fairly
- Give both companies the same inventory, the same addresses and the same dates. Different lists produce different prices that mean nothing side by side.
- Compare crew size, not just the total. Three movers at a higher hourly rate can finish a house before two movers at a lower one.
- Check what is included: wrap, boxes, tape, mattress bags, disassembly of beds and tables, and floor protection.
- Ask what can change the price on the day, and ask for it in writing — extra flights of stairs, a truck that cannot park, an item the inventory missed.
- Read the deposit and cancellation terms, and ask how damage is handled before anything is loaded.
Ways to lower the cost without lowering the care
You pay to move what you keep, so the cheapest hour of the whole job is the one spent sorting before the crew arrives. Furniture that will not fit the new layout, a treadmill nobody uses, the third set of patio chairs — donate, sell or dispose of them first.
Packing is the other lever. Boxes for books, clothes, pantry goods and garage items are straightforward; let the crew handle glassware, artwork, mirrors, mattresses and the kitchen, where a single careless box costs more than the labour saved. Then choose a mid-week, mid-month date if your lease allows it, and be packed and ready when the truck pulls up — idle time is billable time.
How we quote
We don’t publish a rate card, because an hourly rate without a crew size and a scope tells you nothing. Instead we build the quote from a walkthrough, a video, or photos of each room, and we send a written scope with the crew size and the conditions spelled out. If something changes on the day — a fourth flight of stairs, a locked loading dock — you hear it from us before the crew starts, not from the final invoice.
Call 301-800-8679 or request a quote with your two addresses, your dates and the room count, and we will price the actual job.