Muval, Media Release, 17 October 2022

The search for a better life and cost of living pressures are driving Australians into regional areas or interstate as they refuse to give up on the Great Australian Dream of owning a home, a new report has found.

The Muval Index* reveals the lengths Australians of all ages are going to to achieve their dreams and live their best life amid rising cost of living pressures.

In its 2022 Index, national online removalist booking platform Muval analysed the most up-to-date national moving data to identify the latest internal migration trends and surveyed hundreds of Australians about their moving intentions to gain a clearer understanding of why Australians move.

The Index has revealed that the desire to live in a better home or location is the main reason Australians relocate, that rising cost of living has overtaken Covid as a motivating factor to move, that the search for affordable housing is prompting new waves of internal migration from capital cities into the regions and interstate, and that west is a popular direction to go post-pandemic.

Key findings of the 2022 Muval Index include:

Covid v Cost of living

• Almost two-thirds of survey respondents (65 per cent) said a rise in the cost of living would increase their desire to move, compared to 27 per cent for Covid
• 11 per cent of survey respondents have already moved in order to reduce their cost of living and this figure may rise to as many as a quarter by this time next year
• 40 per cent of respondents said a $50 rent rise would send them packing and 27 per cent said an interest rate rise of more than 2 per cent, which is how much rates have already risen this year, would spark their desire to move

Lifestyle, location and love

• A desire to live in a better home or location is the key reason Australians move, with almost a third (30 per cent) of survey respondents indicating it was the main motivator
• Babyboomers are influencing moving trends, with 12 per cent saying they were looking to downsize to a home with less upkeep. Downsizing was the most common motivation for moving for those who were not working (23 per cent).
• Seeking a better lifestyle was the reason 11 per cent wanted to move
• Relationships impact on relocations with 9 per cent either moving in or out because of love or a breakup, and almost one in five (19 per cent) interstate moves sparked by a relationship change

Regions rule

• While most (61 per cent) Aussies move locally, almost a quarter (24 per cent) are relocating to a regional destination, with that figure rising to 33 per cent for couples with no children
• Muval data shows there has been an 80 per cent increase in regional moving enquiries over the past two years, which reached a peak during the June quarter in 2022
• The regions are a beacon for first home buyers going in search of affordable housing, with a large chunk of regional movers’ people shifting from a rental property into a purchased home (27 per cent)
• Most people move to a region to upgrade their home or area (26 per cent), to achieve a better lifestyle (18 per cent), to downsize (13 per cent) or reduce cost of living (11 per cent) with regional homeowners experiencing less mortgage stress – 51 per cent said they could comfortably handle a doubling of mortgage interest rates over the next 12 months
• The regional shift is having a big impact on small towns as movers inject money into the local economy setting up their new home (51 per cent buy what they need for their new home in their new town) and a quarter claim to spend more money after moving on discretionary items such as signing up to a gym, making home improvements, getting take away and eating out, or experiencing local sights, especially when showing visiting friends and family around their new town

New Western hot spot

• Showing that people are increasingly moving in and hardly any are moving out, Perth experienced the highest positive net migration percentage trend of any capital city over the past two and a half years, surging from +37 per cent in January 2020 to a 2022 high of +149 per cent in August 2022
• Perth also accounted for a fifth (20 per cent) of inbound moving enquiries for capital cities in August 2022, and remains on an upward trajectory since receiving 14 per cent of queries in January 2022

Metro moves

• After a mass exodus during Melbourne’s lengthy pandemic lockdowns, the Victorian capital is officially the most popular place to move this year accounting for a quarter of all inbound moving enquiries, and migration returning to pre-pandemic levels
• Brisbane and Perth are competing for second place, with Perth on the up and Brisbane heading down after its pandemic peak of 28 per cent of inbound enquiries in October 2021

“Packing up and moving house is a big decision but Australians have shown that relocating is one way they are fighting back against the rising cost of living. Unwilling to sacrifice the lifestyle they have become accustomed to or refusing to give up on their dream of owning a home, Australians are choosing to pack up their lives in search of a better and more affordable life. Internal migration often reflects wider forces at play in our society and the Muval Index shows that this year, the cost of living is a major driving force behind house moves,” Muval Chief Executive Officer James Morrell said.

“The regional trend, which started a couple of years ago with the rise of remote working, is continuing into 2022 as regions offer an affordable option for many Australians. Once the domain of retirees or niche groups, our data is telling us that tree and sea changes are becoming a common move for all kinds of Australians in search of a cheaper and better lifestyle. And this once-in-a-lifetime regional shift is set to change the fabric of Australian society as waves of new residents become part of the community, boost the local economy, and breathe life into regional towns.”

*The Index has been compiled using Muval’s own data which paints the most up-to-date picture of moving trends based on online searches for removalists as well as a sample size survey of Australians