Why are moving costs down 7% from a year ago?

The short answer

• The Federal Reserve maintained elevated benchmark interest rates, keeping mortgage rates high and restricting existing home sales to roughly 4.06 million annually compared to over 5.3 million previously, dampening the primary driver of household moving demand. [1]
• Following the completion of more than 71 million square feet of new storage space through mid-2025, national self-storage occupancy fell well below pandemic peaks to around 77 to 85 percent, prompting 71 percent of the 150 largest U.S. cities to post year-over-year street rent declines by August 2026 according to Yardi Matrix. [1] [2] [3] [4]
• Consumer demand for moving trucks, professional movers, and temporary storage units surged during the spring and early summer moving rush, pushing unadjusted prices up 20.7 percent against seasonal capacity limits. [5]

What's driving the price

Political, regulatory and trade factors

• Mortgage rate lock-in and depressed housing turnover (Jan 2024 to Sep 2026), Federal Reserve: The Federal Reserve maintained elevated benchmark interest rates, keeping mortgage rates high and restricting existing home sales to roughly 4.06 million annually compared to over 5.3 million previously, dampening the primary driver of household moving demand. [pushed prices down] [1]

Macro factors: supply, weather, disease, energy

• Self-storage facility overbuilding and street rate reductions (Jan 2024 to Sep 2026): Following the completion of more than 71 million square feet of new storage space through mid-2025, national self-storage occupancy fell well below pandemic peaks to around 77 to 85 percent, prompting 71 percent of the 150 largest U.S. cities to post year-over-year street rent declines by August 2026 according to Yardi Matrix. [pushed prices down] [1] [2] [3] [4]
• Deceleration in national mobility and interstate migration (Jan 2024 to Dec 2025): Census Bureau data showed the national mover rate fell to an all-time low of 11.8 percent in 2024, with state-to-state migration reaching a 12-year low of roughly 550,000 people and net inflows into major Sunbelt destinations falling sharply, reducing freight volume for interstate van lines. [pushed prices down] [1] [5]

Retail, brand and seasonal factors

• Peak summer moving and relocation volume (Dec 2025 to Jun 2026): Consumer demand for moving trucks, professional movers, and temporary storage units surged during the spring and early summer moving rush, pushing unadjusted prices up 20.7 percent against seasonal capacity limits. [pushed prices up] [5]
• Post-summer seasonal volume tapering (Jun 2026 to Sep 2026): Moving activity slowed as the busy summer season ended, leading to a 5.7 percent decrease in prices heading into the autumn off-peak period. [pushed prices down] [2]

Supply chain right now

• Storage real estate development (stable): Heavy completions of new self-storage facilities through 2025 created widespread regional capacity surpluses and elevated vacancy rates. [4]
• Fleet equipment and fuel (moderate): Trucking capacity has loosened and fuel expenses have stabilized below previous highs, moderating linehaul transportation costs. [6]
• Moving and handling labor (moderate): Van lines face steady hourly wage pressures for professional packing crews and commercial drivers, but reduced move volume limits overall labor overtime. [7] [8]
• Consumer dynamic pricing and leasing (critical): Sluggish home purchases continue to depress move inquiries, driving storage REITs and moving companies to deploy steep promotional discounts to capture scarce customers. [3] [9] [10]

Researched 2026-10-18 with Google Search. Every point links to its sources; unsourced claims were removed.

Moving & storage prices, last 12 months

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), series CUUR0000SEHP03.

Sources

1. National Self-Storage Market Update: Current Performance, 2025 Trends, and H1 2026 Outlook (matthews.com)
2. rentcafe.com (rentcafe.com)
3. sparefoot.com (sparefoot.com)
4. pwc.com (pwc.com)
5. Moving Statistics & Trends: Key Insights for Your Next Move (extraspace.com)
6. Here’s Where Inflation is Raising Your Living Costs the Most | Move.org (move.org)
7. lile.com (lile.com)
8. reddit.com (reddit.com)
9. capright.com (capright.com)
10. Client Challenge (reit.com)

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