How often do Aussies move homes?
Well, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that from 2019 to 2020, 1.14 million households (12% of all households) moved at least once in the previous 12 months.
Other findings include:
- Over half (52%) of households with a reference person aged 15 to 24 had spent less than 1 year in their current dwelling.
- 26% of 25 to 34-year-old reference persons had spent less than 1 year in their current dwelling.
- 46% of households with a reference person aged 15 to 24 had spent 1 to less than 5 years in their current dwelling.
- 58% of household reference persons aged 25 to 34 had been in their current dwelling for 1 to less than 5 years.
- Households with a household reference person aged 65 years and over moved home less frequently with 3% of these households having spent less than 1 year in their current dwelling and 15% having spent 1 to less than 5 years.
Frequency of moves
The ABS data also revealed that households with a younger household reference person reported moving more frequently than other households.
Some 46% of households with a reference person aged 15 to 24 years had moved three or more times in the previous 5 years.
Renters moved more frequently than homeowners.
As shown in the graph below, just under a third (29%) of private renter households had spent less than 1 year in their current dwelling and 52% had spent less than 5 years.
Homeowners moved less frequently, with 5% reporting less than 1 year in their current dwelling and 23% less than 5 years.
In comparison, 28% of homeowner households and 25% of households renting from a state or territory housing authority reported living in their current dwelling for 20 years or more.
Locality of move
According to ABS data, of those households who had moved within the last 5 years:
- almost two-thirds (65%) moved within the same state or territory (but outside the same suburb or locality);
- 25% of moves were within the same suburb or locality;
- 7% of households moved from a different state or territory; and
- 3% moved from overseas to Australia.
Reasons for moving
Of all households who had moved within the last 5 years:
- 12% reported the main reasons for moving were wanting a bigger or better home (down from 17% in 2013–14); and
- 20% reported the main reason was to purchase their own dwelling (up from 16% in 2013–14).
The main reasons for moving also varied by household characteristics.
- For households with a reference person aged 65 years or over, the main reasons for moving were downsizing (22%) and being close to family and friends (13%).
- For households with a reference person aged 35 to 44 years, purchasing a home (22%) and wanting a bigger or better home (17%) were key reasons for moving.
- For households with a young reference person aged 15 to 24 years, the reasons for moving included to form their own family or being independent (14%) and 13% of moves were for education reasons. These households were also much more frequent movers.
- For households renting from a state or territory housing authority, the highest reported reason for moving was due to housing allocation (37%).
Barriers to moving for those who wanted to move
In 2019–20, 8% of households reported that they would like to move house but were unlikely to move in the next 12 months.
The main reason reported for not moving was that:
- they could not afford to buy a new dwelling (61%);
- they could not afford the expenses associated with moving (25%); and
- the move would be too much effort (22%).
