What is the Average Cost of Moving House in 2023?

Without a doubt, moving house is a very interesting period in a person’s life. Often dubbed as one of the most stressful events one can ever experience, the process of having your household possessions transferred from one home to another has confirmed, over and over again, that each moving mistake can turn out to be too costly in the end while cases of proactive thinking and meticulous preparation are often rewarded handsomely.

Being well prepared for your upcoming move is very important because it will help you understand better what to expect from the upcoming weeks and days, and most importantly – what will be at stake during that highly transitional phase.

Yes, your valuable time and worthwhile efforts won’t be spared but the thing that will make a huge difference will be the cost of your house move. It’s your hard-earned money, after all, so it’s imperative that you get a taste of just how much you will have to loosen the strings of your purse.

Avoid unpleasant post-move surprises by knowing the average house removal costs in advance. Be familiar with the average cost of removal companies to stay in complete control from Day 1.

You may like to read:

• Moving Home Yourself vs Hiring a Removal Company
• What to Know When Hiring Removals for The First Time

First things first: should you hire a removal company?

Sometimes it’s hard to know for sure whether you should hire a removal company to take care of the details of your move, or whether you feel confident that you can manage without professional assistance. A score of individual circumstances can affect, one way or the other, that important decision of yours.

But how can you be positive that you do need the expert touch of experienced and trained removal men?

• Distance. The distance between starting Point A (the place you’re moving out of) and final Point B (the place you’re moving into) is vital for figuring out the next steps of your house relocation. Moving across town or to a neighbouring city is rather different than moving to another part of the country hundreds of miles away – while moving locally gives you a fairly good opportunity to organize and execute a self-move, long-distance moves without professional guidance are not really recommended for a number of safety and economical reasons.

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  Number and nature of goods. As far as the number of household items, there’s a big difference between moving out of a one-bedroom flat or house and leaving a 3+ bedroom home – more possessions automatically mean more time and care when packing them for the move. Also, let’s not forget that the presence of specialty items such as a piano, a billiard table, or large antique furniture pieces is not the best time to show your self-moving abilities.

• Time. One factor will undoubtedly determine whether or not, or how badly you need a crew of movers to prepare your possessions and arrange the move details for you. Time! If your scheduled moving day is approaching much faster than you can handle it, then it’s time to find a good removals firm.

• Helping hands. Moving house has never meant to be a one-man affair so think about whether you can actually rely on your friends for help or not. Packing up a home can be usually managed on your own (given that you have enough time, of course) but all the heavy lifting come Moving day is anything but a joke. No guaranteed non-professional helping hands for you should basically mean guaranteed professional assistance at your disposal.

SEE ALSO: How to get friends to help you move

• Experience. Is this the very first time you’re moving out of a home and moving into another? Have you done it before with satisfactory results? Whether you realize it or not, previous move-related experience will play an important role in your final decision.

The success of your move is largely dependent on your ability not to get ahead of yourself. The preparatory steps should be taken one by one and in a way that makes perfect sense for you. So, 8 times out of 10 you are likely to reach the conclusion that circumstances force you to use the quality services of a top-rated removal company. So far, so good.

The next logical question is to familiarize yourself with the average cost of removals when moving house with the purpose of being financially and mentally prepared for what’s coming your way.

You may like to read:

• How to Choose a Good Removal Company
• How to Compare Removal Companies
• How to Avoid Moving Scams

Average removal costs (local and long-distance moving)

It’s fair to say upfront that it’s very difficult to say how much your particular house move will cost due to a lack of essential data. The case-by-case nature of residential moves makes it extremely hard to give removal costs with any respectable level of accuracy. Despite that inconvenience, knowing the average cost of removals will help you prepare a general plan of action and will prevent that awful feeling of surprised unpreparedness when the removals quote you the price.

Local moves (hourly rates)

It’s important to know that local moves (short-distance relocation) have hourly rates, that is local removal firms charge their customers by the hour, as well as per man and per van. In addition to the various circumstances around each and every relocation case, many of the removal companies in London and anywhere else in the country have different tariffs which make the typical removal costs in the UK even harder to predict.

In London, for example, you should be ready to pay between £80 and £90  per hour (including a 2-hour minimum charge) for 2 men and a van from a reputable professional removal company. Packing usually is an extra cost of roughly £30 per hour per man, while other additional moving services tend to cost the same extra charge.

Of course, the more professional helpers you need, the higher the rate will be. How many hours your removal crew needs to complete the job will also depend on the size of your home and the specific items in it. As mentioned above, household items that require special packing and transportation needs will increase the average cost of moving house.

Packing materials are another expense that cannot be simply overlooked. If you have procured the necessary packing supplies beforehand, then you have nothing to worry about (learn how to get packing boxes for free!). But if you let the removal firm provide the needed materials for the packing job, then you should expect to shell out anywhere from £2 for a big moving box. Roughly speaking, the whole set of packing materials, including moving boxes will cost you between £120-£150 for a 4 bedroom house.

The 2-hour minimum charge has become standard practice with local removal companies in the UK to help them stay in business and maintain their professional service at their highest quality. Whenever the 2-hour mark is exceeded, local removals will often charge customers in half-hour increments.

Long-distance moves (fixed prices)

Receiving a quote for the final price is reserved for long-distance moves where cross-country movers can estimate the house removal costs on the basis of your relocation parameters and comparison analysis from past moving jobs similar to yours.

Make sure:

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  you get price quotes from several removal firms so that you can compare the prices and conditions carefully before making up your mind;

• you get the quotes after personal visits from various moving company representatives. You can’t expect to get accurate moving quotes by phone or through e-mail, so request in-house surveys for your own sake and discuss all the move-related issues that may be bothering you;

• you pay special attention to all the extra costs that may be applicable in your case;

• you ask the removals for clarification if how the final moving costs were formed if is not clear enough.

Keep in mind that a good moving company will explain their removal prices in detail and may even provide you with some advice on how to move for less money. Top-rated movers can even offer you various discounts to keep you satisfied as far as the moving price is concerned. For your information, that same removal cost will be largely influenced by (1) the number and weight of the items for transportation, (2) the presence of any special household goods, (3) the distance to your new home, and (4) the number of removal men involved in the move.

And finally, how much do removal companies charge for a long-distance move?

• The average removal costs for a 1 bedroom flat or house are around £850, plus an extra £275 for professional packing.

• The average removal costs for a 2 bedroom flat or house are around £1500, with an additional £475 for packing by professionals.

• The average removal costs for a 3 bedroom house are around £1850, with an extra £775 for professional packing services.

• The average removal costs for a 4 bedroom house are roughly £3000, with an extra £975 for safe and quick packing done by the pros.

Please note that all of the above removal costs are only estimated average values and your final price will, in most cases, be different due to the score of variables surrounding your own relocation case. So, to learn exactly how much you will need to pay after your goods are safely delivered to your new residence, use our removal costs estimator to get contacted by top-rated removals or request on-site estimation directly from trustworthy cross-country movers in your area.

Must Read:

• How to set a moving budget
• Sneaky Ways  to Save on Your Removal Costs
• How to Save Money Moving Home and Make a Profit

How to choose the best removal company for you?

Choosing the right removal firm for your relocation job is not to be underestimated – you need the peace of mind that your future partner won’t try to scam you in any way, and the services they offer will be one of the best in the business.

Here’s what you really need to know when choosing a removal company?

• You are strongly advised to choose a removal company that is a member of the British Association of Removers (BAR). Such membership is a sure sign that the company you will have by your side will meet the set of minimum standards established by BAR. Such high standards work greatly in your favour and include licensed moving vehicles, experience and professionalism of the crews, deposit protection, arbitration and conciliation in case unexpected problems arise, and so on.

• Do not agree on a removal company quote done over the phone as such a remote quotation can never be as accurate as you want it to be. Instead, request an on-site estimation of the removal costs and assessment of possible risks and moving day difficulties.

• Don’t go with only one quote but ask for at least 3-4 from different companies – you need to be able to compare the prices and conditions carefully. Extremely low quotes are usually a sign that somebody may be trying to scam you, so be careful how you proceed.

• The extra moving services and their rates are usually what will make or break the deal when it comes to hiring reputable removal companies.

• Spend some time researching your candidate removals by visiting removal companies’ review websites you can actually trust, such as RemovalReviews.co.uk. Read what past customers had to say about the removals firms you have set your eyes on.

BONUS ADVICE: 8 clever tips for moving on a budget

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