It’s more stressful than having a child or getting married
Moving home ranks alongside major life upheavals such as relationship breakdowns and job loss as one of the most stressful experiences Australians face, new research commissioned by Airtasker has found.
The study, which surveyed 1,000 people who had moved house recently, examined the emotional and physical impact of relocating on Australians. Buying a home and moving house were identified as particularly intense pressure points, ranking third and fourth respectively among life’s most stressful events. Relationship breakdowns and losing a job topped the list, while moving home came ahead of milestones such as having a child, starting a new job and getting married.
Around one in six respondents (15.3%) said moving house was the single most stressful experience they had faced, edging out buying a home at 14.7%.
Finding a home emerged as the most stressful stage of the process. More than half of respondents rated this step as very or extremely stressful. Renting was reported as slightly more challenging than purchasing, with 54.9% of renters describing the search as extremely stressful, compared with 51% of buyers. The results point to the added pressure on tenants in a tight housing market.
| Top 10 most stressful parts of moving house | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Moving Stage | % Very/Extremely Stressful | Mean Stress Score /5 |
| 1 | Finding a house to rent, e.g. attending housing inspections, rental applications, etc | 54.9% | 3.53 |
| 2 | Finding a house to buy, e.g. attending housing inspections, housing auctions, making an offer, etc | 51.0% | 3.44 |
| 3 | Cleaning or preparing the old home, e.g. end of lease cleans, decluttering | 47.5% | 3.38 |
| 4 | Selling a house, e.g. valuations, listing the property, preparing it for sale, etc | 49.0% | 3.38 |
| 5 | Disruption to routine | 42.9% | 3.30 |
| 6 | Planning and organising the move | 42.7% | 3.29 |
| 7 | Legal/financial matters, e.g. contracts, mortgages, deposits, etc | 40.4% | 3.25 |
| 8 | Coordinating logistics, movers, service providers, or transport | 40.0% | 3.20 |
| 9 | Packing and unpacking belongings | 41.2% | 3.17 |
| 10 | Admin for setting up the new home, e.g. sorting utilities, insurance, address changes, etc | 37.3% | 3.10 |
| Source: Airtasker | |||
The Airtasker report also indicated that stress tends to peak before moving day itself. Securing a property, arranging a sale and planning the move generated more anxiety than physical tasks such as loading a removal truck or assembling furniture.
Almost all respondents (94%) reported at least one emotional or physical difficulty during their move. Physical exhaustion was the most common issue, affecting about two-thirds of participants.
Across most measures, women reported higher levels of strain than men. The largest difference appeared in feelings of stress and emotional overwhelm: 71.5% of women said they felt emotionally stressed or overwhelmed during their move, compared with 46.4% of men.
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