17 January 2024 | See disclaimer
Moving house can be stressful and time-consuming, but there seems to be one month that makes it easier than others.
Quick Stats
- Budget Direct Home Insurance quote data reveals Australians tend to move house in January.
- State data uncovered that people are 50% more likely to relocate in January than any other month.
- The Northern Territory scored as the highest individual state or territory where almost 20% of moves are in January, as reported by those obtaining a Home Insurance quote.
- March was reported to be the second most popular month to move for Aussies.
- The data also revealed seaside suburbs have the highest move rates across the country, noting suburbs like Falcon (WA), Coomera (Qld) and Werribee (Vic) are fast-growing January moves.
January is emerging as the most popular month to move home in Australia according to those obtaining a Home Insurance quote from Budget Direct. Our statistics showed people are up to 50% more likely to move in January than in any other month.
The numbers are highest in the Northern Territory where 18.89% of moves are in January. That’s considerably more than March, which is the state’s second most popular month to move, accounting for 8.13% of moves.
In the ACT and Tasmania, 17.62% and 17.27% (respectively) of residents moved house in January, with New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia residents all reporting between 13 and 16%.
Check out our breakdown of the top months to move per state and territory.
Why are Aussies moving house in January more than any other month?
There are a few potential reasons why January is so popular.
The warm weather and longer days are surely part of the attraction, but many people probably consider January a quieter time of year when they have more time to move.
Those moving interstate are likely attracted by the longer school break and an ideal time to change schools and neighbourhoods.
Depending on settlement arrangements, if people are moving in January, there’s a good chance they’re buying in November and December which could impact prices. An increase in renters moving in January could also affect demand and prices for rental property.
When Budget Direct drills down into the suburbs turning over residents in January, there’s a common theme of people moving to and from the seaside.
The beachside suburb of Falcon in Western Australia is the suburb with the most January moves for that state at 1.96%.
In Queensland, it’s Coomera on the northern edge of the Gold Coast at 1.27%, and in Victoria, the fast-growing area of Werribee is most popular for Victorian January moves at 1.46%.
Check out below to see Australia’s Top 10 suburbs Aussies are moving to.
State |
Suburb |
Percentage |
|---|---|---|
ACT |
Holt |
10.72% |
WA |
Falcon |
1.96% |
WA |
Wangara |
1.74% |
WA |
Joondalup |
1.72% |
WA |
Armadale |
1.61% |
Vic |
Werribee |
1.46% |
Vic |
Hoopers Crossing |
1.45% |
Vic |
Craigieburn |
1.41% |
Qld |
Coomera |
1.27% |
WA |
Success |
1.26% |
These figures only represent the percentage of people that have moved to these suburbs and have not considered the area size of each suburb. A suburb with a larger area size will accommodate a larger population than those with a smaller area.
Find out more about Budget Direct Home Insurance.
Methodology
We analysed Budget Direct Home Insurance quote data from 2021 to 2023. At least 1,000 rows of data for each data point were analysed to determine when Australians move house as reported by those who obtained a Home Insurance quote across Australia.
