Bay most popular moving destination for Aucklanders

Brothers Cam (left) and Nate Whitaker, co-founders of MovingPros, say so far in 2017 the Bay is the most popular destination for Aucklanders. Photo/Supplied

The Bay is the most popular destination in the country for fleeing Aucklanders, according to a moving quote company which says 20 per cent of its business is to the region.

MovingPros, a website which allows users to compare quotes from different relocation companies online, said data from January to March 2017 showed 20 per cent of all people moving out of Auckland were heading to the Bay of Plenty.

Tauranga, Papamoa, Mt Maunganui and Pyes Pa made up half of these moves, making it the wider Tauranga area most popular city, in front of both Wellington and Christchurch.

The rest of the moves were spread out across Rotorua, Katikati, Waihi Beach and a handful in Whakatane.

MovingPros co-founder Nate Whitaker said 60 per cent of the site's inquiries were from Aucklanders.

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However, Mr Whitaker said he was expecting house price rises in the Tauranga area to stem the flow and was expecting interest to increase in the surrounding areas.

Crown Relocation spokesman Stephen Lynch said about 10 per cent of their domestic enquiries would be going from Auckland to the Bay.

However, Mr Lynch said he thought this growth may already be beginning to taper, possibly as a result of house prices.

"I don't have any evidence for it, but I think it's actually starting to tail off slightly this year at the moment ... [The Bay] is still fairly strong but I don't think it's as much as it was this time last year."

He said outside of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, the Bay was the most popular destination nationwide.

Conroy Relocations managing director David Conroy, which operates in both New Zealand and Australia, said the once strongly flowing Tasman tide had turned back towards Aotearoa.

He said company had moved a "huge number" of people to Tauranga from across the Tasman, many of whom were "more established" older Kiwis returning home.

The company said it had less demand for Bay relocations compared to the 10 or 20 per cent of MovingPros and Crown.

Managing director of 1st Call Recruitment Phill van Syp said he had seen a noticeable increase in Aucklanders seeking Bay jobs in the past six months.

He said the traditionally difficult job of attracting highly skilled senior professionals to the Bay was starting to become easier.

"It definitely has helped that salaries have started to come up to match other regions," Mr van Syp said.

He said the increase of the population and wealth were giving businesses confidence to spend more to attract top talent.

"Companies are willing to pay more ... That's what's been holding Tauranga back, but now they are willing to pay whatever it is they need [in order] to get people on the ground."

"Now we're actually getting businesses coming in, and some of them in Tauranga are doing really well on top of the growth that's happening, so there's a very positive atmosphere on the job market in Tauranga."