"Some people are tempted by a windfall, but when you've spent it, it's gone," he said.
"It might be worth keeping that equity."
Priority One chairman Brett Hewlett said it was hard to comment without knowing how many people were leaving.
"I don't know if you can read too much into it," he said. "It might just be a few isolated instances. The fact is that there is net migration to the Bay of Plenty."
However one furniture removal man said the trend began in February, while others said they began to notice it more recently.
A2B Movers proprietor David Whitehead said he began to sense changes about two months ago.
In the past three weeks, he had helped people move to Wellsford, Havelock North, Raglan, New Plymouth, Gisborne and Wellington.
"They're taking the money and running," Mr Whitehead said.
"They're saying that Tauranga's lost its village feel. One guy went so far as to say it no longer has a soul."
A2B figures show that, in each of the first five months of this year, between 6 per cent and 14 per cent of the firm's jobs involved moving people out of the Bay.
In the past three months, those figures had risen to 15 per cent, 17 per cent and 19 per cent.
The owner of the Tauranga and Hamilton branches of Allied Pickfords, Mike Oliver, said he had noticed a lot of Bay of Plenty and Waikato people moving to "lifestyle" areas in the North Island.
Since February, a growing number of retired people had moved to cheap South Island towns such as Gore and Bluff.
"It doesn't seem to be work-related," he said.
"People are moving to more affordable areas. They can pocket $400,000 and have a lifestyle."
The flipside was that fewer Aucklanders were cashing up and shifting to the Bay, Mr Oliver said. This was because they were no longer able to find bargain houses here.
Allan Crossley Removals owner Allan Crossley said there was a "definite" trend towards cashing up and moving out of the Bay, and it had started six to seven months ago.
He had moved people to Whangarei, Palmerston North and Feilding.
"People do seem to be moving to places like that because it's so much cheaper," he said.
Mr Crossley was one of two removal men who spoke of renters being forced out of the region. He said one person paying $450 rent in the Bay moved to Tokoroa, where it cost just $300 a week for a mortgage and rates.
Mount Movers owner Carl Wood agreed, saying he had noticed "a lot of renters being pushed out of houses".
However, unlike the other movers, he had not noticed a general trend towards leaving Tauranga.
Mr Wood said he had moved about 10 people out of the Bay this year, which was not an unusually high figure. He spent more time moving people around town and into retirement villages.
"They'll sell a house in Valley Rd and move into another house in Valley Rd," he said.
"It's weird."
NZ Van Lines Tauranga branch manager Mike Brittain was another yet to notice a major exodus, although he was moving furniture to Whanganui this week and had also moved two batches of furniture to Kawerau recently.
"There is some of that happening, but we haven't noticed it hugely."
