When is the Best Time to Move House?

By David Green

Updated: Oct 14, 2023

5 min read

Fact-checked by Martin Panayotov

Reviewer & editor

Whether by force of circumstances or by your own (informed) decision, moving to another home is never a joke regardless of when you do it. Whatever the time of the year – season, month, day and time of day, there will always be ups and downs during the relocation process.

Is there a best time to move house, you may wonder?

As disappointing as it may sound, there isn’t a universally perfect time to move out of your home. Why? Because the best time of year to move house is perfectly dependent on you and your unique individual needs.

Perfection when setting a moving day may be largely unattainable, but there are still some general Moving Day guidelines you should definitely follow – practical relocation concepts that can help you select the right time to move out, if you are able to dictate your move date, and thus save some money in the process too.

So, when is the best time to move house? Read on, and you should be able to choose a time that is as close to being perfect for you as possible.

What season is best for moving house?

If you had the luxury to choose the season in which to move out, would you go for the cold winter months when your hands will freeze and the roads will be covered in snow or ice? Or would you rather opt for a summer day when the weather is warm, roads are safe and birds are singing happily from the nearby trees?

Yet, a quick reality check will confirm that things are not that black and white when moving house as there are a good number of factors to consider prior to deciding on a moving date.

Winter

From a climatic point of view, winter is the worst time of year to move house.

The unpredictability of the winter season is a reason enough to change people’s minds about leaving the warmth and safety of their current homes (if they can help it, of course). You may be lucky enough to have a mild winter climate on your move-out day, but you may also have to battle your way through a huge snow blizzard.
The cold weather will be very unpleasant for you and your removal men, while the characteristic sub-zero temperatures can also damage some of the more delicate items you are taking with you. If your household items need to stay overnight in the moving van under freezing conditions, then some of them may be damaged forever.
A winter move can easily add a few extra tasks on your moving calendar.

Safety while your items are taken out of your home and loaded into the van is a major concern too – accidents caused by slippery pathways and tricky ice-covered walkways are not uncommon either. To make things worse, driving a big moving vehicle on snow- or ice-covered roads is plain dangerous.

And yet, moving in the winter is all about taking a calculated risk that could actually pay off handsomely in the end.

Wintertime is the height of the off-peak moving season so it’s no surprise removal companies tend to lower substantially their standard rates in order to secure enough moving jobs to stay in business.
In addition to a much better relocation deal in terms of price and conditions, you will also get the most experienced removal men to work for you.

Winter moving advice: 10 cool tips to survive a winter move

Spring and autumn

As mentioned above, the best time to move out of your home depends entirely on your personal circumstances, but the majority of moving experts agree that spring and autumn are probably the best seasons to move house because they combine the advantages of both winter and summer household moves.

First of all, the weather conditions should be much milder, especially if you’re moving during mid- or late spring or early and mid-autumn. So, forget about freezing coldness and alarming dangers that only snow and ice can bring to a residential move.
Secondly, your move will fall out of the true moving season /May-September/, so you should be able to take advantage of better relocation deals (lower prices!) and increased availability of top-rated removals, or a wider choice of good rental vans if you’re moving on your own.
And thirdly, thanks to the lessened amount of jobs removals have to tackle, there should be no scheduling conflicts or mix-ups between the move date you desire and the move date a removal company can accommodate.

And seriously, won’t the unbeatable combination of low prices and mild climatic conditions win the prize for the best time to move house?

Packing advice: 40 amazing packing tips

Summer

Yes, summer is the most popular season for moving, and many shippers of household items swear that it is the best time to move house, period. Whether you agree with that opinion or not, it’s unfair to take a one-sided look at the height of the moving season.

In 2015, the busiest date for the removal industry in the UK was 31 July. Just a coincidence? Think again.

Summer weather is guaranteed to be good unless you are unlucky enough to be moving during extremely hot days or in the middle of summer storms.
It’s much easier to get some days off work to turn your utmost attention to your relocation needs.
If you have children in school, moving in the summer will be a good time for them to change schools thanks to the summer break. Yes, this factor alone is powerful enough to persuade most families to undertake a summer move. Read on for more information on this subject.

Moving house in summer — Is this how you picture your summer move?

Speaking of the best time to move into a new house, summer would have been the indisputable winner if it didn’t fall right in the middle of the moving season.

The demand for top-rated and experienced removal companies reaches its peak during the summer months, so unless you book your date way in advance, you may find it impossible to hire good removals.
Because of that higher demand for moving services, removal firms charge their customers more money for the same service during the off-peak season. Those higher rates seem rather unfair but that’s the way the moving industry operates.
You will need to organize your entire move much better to be able to book your summer move as early as possible. And better organization often means increased levels of stress – something that could hurt you in the long run.

Summer moving tips: 8 super tips for moving in the summer

Best time of the month to move house

Scheduling a move is not as easy as some people think – there are a number of important factors to weigh in before you can decide on a moving date that will bring you the extra set of advantages you need. Provided that you have decent control over your moving schedule, you should have already selected the right season to relocate. And if that’s true, let’s take a quick look at possible good and bad times of the month to make your move.

The first and last few days of each month is the time when rental leases usually expire and plenty of renters will be looking for new places to move into. Should you select to move home around those dates, it’s possible that you don’t get any good deals from removal companies due to their increased amount of work. Remember that your ultimate goal is to avoid the intensified traffic of people moving from one place to another.
Unless you select the height of the moving season to move out, choosing a move-out date around the middle of a month should be a good choice, in most cases, in terms of availability of reputable and experienced removals and lower rates.

Best day of the week to move house

Best day to move house — If you treat your perpetual calendar well, it will tell you the best time to move house.

Statistical data show that most of the people choose to move house on weekends, especially on Fridays and Saturdays. This fact is not really surprising considering the convenience of being officially off from work to take care of that important task.

But again, it also means that the work schedules of removals companies will be constantly full on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so you may have to pay more, battle delays and deal with limited resources to make your move as smooth as possible.
Speaking of best day of week to move house, Monday-Thursday is the week period when you should be able to complete your relocation project the way you have planned it without harmful influences from the outside.

See also: Is it time to move to a new city?

Best time of the day to move into a new house

You should be well familiar with the saying that the early bird catches the worm. And even if you’ve never liked that saying, the meaning it conveys is nothing but pure wisdom when it comes to the best time of day to move house.

The earlier you start your moving adventure, the better – especially if you’re moving long distance and you do not have any plans to spend the night on the road. A good starting point is around 8 o’clock in the morning.
By making a move at the break of dawn, you will get more time to finish some last-minute tasks before your removal men knock on your door. Such final preparations include but are not limited to finalizing your essentials boxes, taking one last walk around your home for forgotten items or even saying a quick goodbye to the folks next door.
Choosing to begin your house move early enough will give your nerves a break in case your removals turn up later than scheduled.

Useful info: What to do after moving into a new house

Planning to move house on special occasions?

Deciding when to move house can prove to be a challenge if there are bound to be clashes with previously planned events (vacations, summer camps), personal celebrations (birthdays) and major national holidays (Christmas, New Year’s Eve).

Here are a few important guidelines to keep in mind when looking for the best time to move house on and around special occasions and events.

Summer break. If you have school-age children, then you must schedule your move with their school calendar in mind. Thus said, the summer break is usually the best time to move into a new house because they will have enough time to say goodbye to their friends, get used to the idea of moving away and then have a few weeks to adapt to the new surroundings before the start of the new academic year. Moving during the summer break will eliminate any detrimental interruptions of the current school year – don’t forget that changing schools can be really tough from your children’s perspective. Plus, having homework-free time on their hands, your kids can really help you prepare for the move better.
There are 1001 reasons why Christmas is the worst time of year to move house.

Christmas. If you happen to be dreaming of being in your new home just in time for Christmas, then you may want to re-consider whether your “magical” dream is worth the higher prices and the dangers along the road due to inclement weather. And, worst of all, a single moving mistake could ruin that wonderful time of year – a time that you should be spending wrapping and exchanging presents with your most favourite people on Earth. However, if circumstances force you to move house at Christmas, then make sure you plan for all the details and enlist the invaluable help of professional removals way in advance. (Where to find the best removals in the UK?)
New Year. The start of the new year might seem like a good time to move house – you know, the appealing idea of a new beginning in a new place. However, moving house in January is not the best idea for a number of valid reasons. First of all, a January move will mean that you will have to spend the entire December season in getting ready to move out – fancy spending Christmas surrounding by packing boxes and bubble wrap? And secondly, the cold January weather can really make things more difficult and riskier for you than they need to be. ,

When is the Best Time to Move House?