Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute - AHURI

New finds more migration from cities to regional areas is a long term trend since 2007. The research, which is the final report from the AHURI Inquiry into Projecting Australia’s urban and regional futures, revealed:
- people move to regional areas mainly for lifestyle and personal reasons
- strongest growing regional areas are near metropolitan centres, along the coast
- people moving to regional areas are older and have more financial resources
- population growth has knock-on effects on house prices in surrounding areas, both near and far from immediate growth zones.

The research, ‘Inquiry into projecting Australia’s urban and regional futures: population dynamics, regional mobility and planning responses’, was undertaken by researchers from University of Sydney, University of Tasmania, The University of Adelaide and UNSW.

Further research within this Inquiry can be viewed on our website. Read more here: https://ow.ly/78e550V9Ya4



Nicole Gurran, Greta Werner, Caitlin Buckle, Maria Belen Yanotti, Emma Baker, Hoon Han

New finds most people (about 70%) moving to capital cities rent their home. In contrast, more people leaving cities to regional areas become homeowners. Around 38% of those moving from cities own or are paying off a home, compared to 23% of those moving to cities.

The research, ‘Understanding contemporary demographic and economic drivers of household mobility and their policy implications’, was undertaken by researchers from UNSW and University of Sydney.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/5WXx50V9WT5

To find out more about how this trend impacts house prices and rents in regional areas, view related reports within this Inquiry.



Hoon Han, Matthew Ng, Laura Crommelin, Glen Searle, Brian Lee, Parian Hoseini

For nearly two decades, more people have moved out of cities to regional areas than the other way around, new reveals.

The research found people moving to regional areas:
- are older and have more financial resources
- are moving mainly for lifestyle and personal reasons, as well as for housing and employment

The strongest growing regional areas are near metropolitan centres, along the coast.

This long-term trend requires governments to better understand and project population movements to support planning for infrastructure, housing and services.

AHURI has released the final two reports from the AHURI Inquiry into Projecting Australia’s urban and regional futures:
- The report, ‘Understanding contemporary demographic and economic drivers of household mobility and their policy implications’, was undertaken by researchers from UNSW and University of Sydney.
- The final report wraps up policy implications for all four projects in the AHURI ‘Inquiry into projecting Australia’s urban and regional futures: population dynamics, regional mobility and planning responses’, which was undertaken by researchers from University of Sydney, University of Tasmania, The University of Adelaide and UNSW.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/sHJw50V95cF

Registration is officially open for the National Housing Conference 2025, Australia's largest and best value housing conference!

We have a range of registration options offering the best value and designed to fit your needs, including discounts for NFP, Group and Concession rates.

The conference will take place in Perth on 14-16 October 2025. Register before Friday 2 May to save 25% with our Super Saver rate! ⏰

Find out more and register: https://ow.ly/Wsjl50V7gr2

At last week's Australasian Housing Researchers Conference, AHURI Managing Director Michael Fotheringham recognised two esteemed housing researchers with the presentation of two annual awards. Here are this year's recipients:

🔴 Dr Terry Burke, Emeritus Professor of Housing Studies at Swinburne University, was awarded the Professor Mike Berry Award for Excellence in Housing Research, sponsored by Housing Choices Australia.
🔴 Dr Christopher Phelps, Research Fellow at the School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Curtin University, received the Federal Minister’s Early Career Housing Researcher Award, sponsored by AHURI.

Congratulations to this year's recipients! Read more about the awards here: https://ow.ly/zmbU50V6C4b

Australian governments are working toward building more 'well-located' homes. So what is a 'well-located' home?

This third in our series exploring housing density unpacks what 'well-located homes' means in Australia, and why it's important.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/iIrj50V41ve

This week members of the AHURI team have enjoyed connecting with friends and colleagues at the Australasian Housing Researchers Conference in Sydney.

Our three most recently published AHURI research reports were presented as part of the program, and it was a great opportunity to connect with our many busy research partners in person.

Special thanks to Nicole Gurran and Laurence Troy for a fabulous job co-chairing this year's conference.

New finds significant gaps in how flood, bushfire and cyclone data is recorded across states and sectors. Fragmented data makes it difficult to assess disasters and to plan for future risks. This report explores ways to use and share data better in order to reduce the impact of disasters.

The research, ‘Improving coordination of data and actors for disaster-responsive housing and safer communities’, was undertaken by researchers from Curtin University, RMIT University and UNSW.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/pw6m50V3gSL



Francesca Perugia, Courtney Babb, Rebecca Scherini, Steven Rowley, Callum Logan, Sara Shirowzhan, Yi Lu, Christopher Pettit

New finds private renters often don’t qualify for temporary housing support. It identifies challenges for moving communities to lower risk areas, and suggests a role for insurance to allow people to rebuild on another property.

The research, ‘Improving coordination of data and actors for disaster-responsive housing and safer communities’, was undertaken by researchers from RMIT University and UNSW.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/ZILX50V3gPg



Annette Kroen, Emma Barnes, Chris Hartley, Jago Dodson, Andrew Butt, Hal Pawson

Do renters see the benefit from interest rate cuts?

AHURI Managing Director, Michael Fotheringham, joined ABC Radio National's Life Matters to discuss how changes in interest rates affect home owners with a mortgage, what their impact is for Australian renters, and how Australia's rental market could be improved.

Listen to the full segment: https://ow.ly/h3VW50V2tbu

Renters and interest rate cuts - ABC listen When interest rates are cut why don't the benefits filter down to renters?

As floods, fires and cyclones destroy more Australian homes, new looks at what needs to change in housing policy and planning to better deal with natural disasters.

The first report, ‘Integrating housing policy, settlement planning and disaster management’, was undertaken by researchers from RMIT University and UNSW and highlights ways that planning systems need to change to prevent building in dangerous areas, guide house design and help emergency responses.

The second research project, ‘Improving coordination of data and actors for disaster-responsive housing and safer communities’, was undertaken by researchers from Curtin University, RMIT University and UNSW and finds that disaster-related data is very fragmented and scattered across various government departments and private companies—often in different formats that don't align.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/oYzm50V1Ivk

AHURI Managing Director, Michael Fotheringham, joined ABC News Afternoons yesterday to discuss a new report by the Productivity Commission as production slows on housing construction.

Watch the full interview here: https://ow.ly/ajge50V1Icn

Housing construction half as productive as 30 years ago | ABC NEWS A Productivity Commission report has found slow approvals, a lack of innovation, a fragmented industry and difficulties in attracting and retaining workers a...

What makes for good quality higher density housing? And what is an appropriate level of density for a thriving neighbourhood?

Our latest dives into factors to consider around well-designed apartments and neighbourhoods, and what makes higher density housing 'well built'.

This AHURI Brief is the second in a series on density, following on from ‘What are 'housing density' and 'high density housing'?

Read more here: https://ow.ly/awWA50V1ImH

New reveals 45,700 low-income Indigenous households had unmet housing needs, representing 13% of all Indigenous households. This means Indigenous households have unmet housing needs at twice the rate of of all Australian households.

What can be done to close this gap?

This research, ‘Indigenous housing support in Australia: the lay of the land’, was undertaken by researchers from the The University of Adelaide, UNSW, University of Sydney and University of Tasmania.

Read more here: https://ow.ly/vskh50UYYHe



Megan Moskos, Vivienne Milligan, Richard Benedict, Daphne Habibis, Linda Isherwood, Ryan van den Nouwelant

Are you ready to help shape the future of housing in Australia? This is your last chance to enter your submission to speak at the 2025 National Housing Conference in Perth!

The program will focus on the 2025 theme . Selected speakers will join the stage to discuss a range of topics in three streams related to the Australian Housing System:
✔️ Economic enablers
✔️ Social outcomes
✔️ Quality and performance

To be considered, submit your abstract before this Sunday, 16 February. Don't miss out! https://ow.ly/q8Ff50UYZpa

Associate Professor and lead researcher Megan Moskos spoke with ABC News to discuss new , 'Indigenous housing support in Australia: the lay of the land', breaking down the unmet housing needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households across Australia, and why closing the housing gap should be a priority.

"First Nations householders face significant barriers in the private rental market related to race-based discrimination, affordability and inappropriate housing options for larger families", shared Megan.

Read the full article here: https://ow.ly/B6Xz50UYXyN

First Nations people experience higher rates of unmet housing needs Rent crisis among the lowest-income First Nations households as new research drills down on the 'unmet' housing needs.