Emeryville Movers for Lofts, Condos and New Buildings

A one-bedroom condo or studio loft with light furniture can be done by two movers at $145 per hour, though most Emeryville jobs with large loft pieces go better with three at $175. A three-bedroom over 1,800 square feet or a four-bedroom gets four movers at $235. The rate does not change by day, the minimum is three hours, and time after that is billed in 15-minute blocks. Elevator waiting counts as job time, so a reserved freight elevator directly lowers the bill.

What an Emeryville move has cost, by home size

Rather than quote a vague starting price, we built these ranges from the hours on our own closed-out local moves. Your home may land outside these numbers; the hourly rate times your actual time is what you pay.

From our closed local jobs for direct customers, July to October 2026: the middle half of billed hours by home size, including the drive between your two addresses and excluding account, partner-billed and full-packing jobs. Supplies are charged as used, with a 3-hour minimum.

Nearly every move here runs through a lobby, a freight elevator and a loading area, so a reservation in writing is the best way to keep a loft or condo inside these ranges.

Emeryville packs a lot into 2.24 square miles wedged between Oakland, Berkeley and the bay. Former factories and warehouses have become live/work lofts, Powell Street and Bay Street carry the big stores, offices and studios line the old rail corridor, and the Watergate condominiums sit out on the peninsula by the marina. Few people here move out of a house with a driveway. Nearly every Emeryville move starts and ends with a building: a lobby, a freight elevator, a loading area and a property manager.

1. When can I move? Many buildings limit moves to set weekday hours or a reserved block.
2. Which elevator and which door? Get the freight elevator reservation and the loading entrance in writing.
3. What insurance do you need? We send the certificate of insurance at no charge; we need the management company name, mailing address and email.
4. Where does the truck go? A loading dock, a garage entrance with a height limit, or the street.

Ask these at both ends if you are moving between two buildings.

Converted lofts

High ceilings and open plans mean big furniture: long sectionals, oversized art, tall shelving and studio equipment. Freight elevators in older conversions can be slow or small, so we measure the largest pieces against them.

Watergate and waterfront condos

A large condominium community with its own rules for moves, parking and paperwork. Plan the COI and the move window early.

New mid-rise apartments

Usually a leasing office, a scheduled elevator and a designated loading zone. These moves are fast once the building has cleared us.

If your building has no dock, the city has a process for reserving public curb space for a moving van with temporary No Parking signs. Check the current rules and lead time with the city, and we help you plan it. We also look at the block before the date. If the crew has to double-park and gets cited, the citation goes on the bill, which a reserved space avoids.

• Quote requests from Emeryville between mid-July and late October 2026 were too few to describe a trend, so we do not cite one.
• Emeryville is about 40 miles northwest of downtown San Jose, and Temescal is only about a mile and a half away.

From San Jose the drive is up I-880 to the Bay Bridge approach, so Emeryville is quick to reach once past Oakland. We do not charge for that drive. San Francisco is just across the bridge, but a move from Emeryville to the city is usually more than 10 minutes door to door, which means the drive between the two buildings is billed at double time under California rules. Moves within Emeryville or to Oakland and Berkeley generally are not. Morning arrival is 9 to 11 AM.

• Temescal: across the freeway in North Oakland, duplexes and Telegraph apartments.
• Oakland: our guide to the whole city.
• Rockridge: bungalows and College Avenue shops.
• Lake Merritt: lakeside towers and walk-ups.
• Berkeley: campus apartments to hill homes.
• Downsizing from a loft? See storage and packing.