The cost-of-living crisis has created a tipping point for Australians who have a new Great Australian Dream: to enjoy life.
According to the 2024 Muval Index, cost of living pressures are still impacting us but the number one reason Australians are moving in the next 12 months is for a better life, with 41% of upcoming moves motivated by lifestyle, above and beyond work, housing and money.
Further cementing our ambitions to enjoy a better life, the number one item on Australians’ wish list is a holiday, with more than half of us (56%) considering an overseas trip in the next 12 months, double (24%) the amount planning to start a new job, almost three times (18%) those planning to move and about eight times (7%) the number of Australians planning to have a baby.
“The data tells us that Australians have had enough of financial pressures and while cost of living is still impacting our lives, we are no longer fixated on being a slave to a mortgage we can’t service. After a record run of interest rate rises and inflation, it seems Australians have reached a tipping point. The 2024 Muval Index has revealed that one third of Australians who moved this year went in search of a better lifestyle and that number rises to 41% next year as a good life becomes the number one reason to move. The new Great Australian Dream is to live, and we are increasingly prioritising lifestyle over life stress this year and next,” Muval Chief Executive Officer James Morrell said.
Key findings of the 2024 Muval Index include:
- The number one reason Australians are moving in the next 12 months is for a better life (41%), more than those moving to reduce cost of living (29%) or for work (11%)
- Cost of living (36%) was the number one reason people moved in the past 12 months
- Twice as many people moved to upgrade their home in 2024 (30% in 2024 v 16% in 2023) and slightly more went in search of a better lifestyle (27%, up from 24% in 2023).
- Half as many people moved for work this year (11% in 2024 v 26% in 2023)
- Almost one in five (18%) Australians is planning to move in the next 12 months, but what most Aussies want is a holiday (56%)
In its 2024 Index, national online removalist booking platform Muval surveyed a sample size of Australians about their moving intentions to gain a clearer understanding of what is motivating Australians to move, and analysed its own moving data to identify the latest internal migration trends.
While the removalist industry as a whole is experiencing a 20-year lull, those that are moving interstate are largely heading to Melbourne or Brisbane, with the River City overtaking pandemic hotspot Perth to claim the nation’s highest net migration rate in 2024, and join Melbourne as the number one city to move to, with both cities receiving 26 per cent of inbound major metro moving enquiries in September.
The 2024 Muval Index also features the latest MuveRank data showing which Australian areas are losing and gaining the most residents in 2024, with the Australian Capital Territory the biggest winner in 2024 when it comes to positive net migration, and Brisbane Inner City losing the most residents.
The full report is available at muval.com.au
*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