New operational data tracking thousands of residential moves across Greater Sydney has laid bare a sharp geographic split between the city’s top growth magnets and its biggest departure hubs, offering real estate agents an early signal of where listing inventory and buyer demand may concentrate over the coming months.
The Sydney Moving Trends 2026 Report, released by A1 Removalists Sydney, analysed 2,930 completed moves across a 12-month period to reveal the exact micro-markets gaining and losing residents.
According to the report, Sydney’s North West growth corridor has established itself as the city’s leading relocation destination, led by Kellyville with a net balance of plus 12 and neighbouring Box Hill at plus 11. This net balance metric reflects the overall gain or loss of residents by subtracting suburb departures from arrivals, meaning Kellyville gained 12 more households than it lost, making it the strongest migration magnet in the dataset.
Other notable migration magnets included Marrickville at plus eight, Lidcombe at plus eight, and Macquarie Park at plus seven.
“Our job records show when and where Sydney families are moving.” said Oliver Mikha, Director of A1 Removalists Sydney.
Conversely, traditional inner-city hubs saw the highest net outbound shifts; Sydney CBD and Leichhardt recorded the highest net losses across the city, each registering a net balance of minus 15 residential departures.
Suburbs such as Campbelltown, Bankstown, and Kogarah also saw steady net outflows, each posting a net balance of minus seven.
“Observed suburb patterns point to useful local opportunities,” the report stated. “Kellyville and Box Hill had the strongest net inbound balances among parsed residential endpoints. Sydney CBD and Leichhardt had the largest net outbound balances.”
Beyond local suburban shifts, the report highlights an ongoing interstate migration drain away from New South Wales. Of the 556 parsed interstate moves in the dataset, 301 were departures out of NSW, compared to just 195 inbound arrivals.
According to the report, the overwhelming majority of outbound Sydney residents headed north or south along the Eastern Seaboard. Queensland absorbed 155 outbound NSW moves, representing 51.5 per cent of total outbound interstate jobs.
Victoria received 113 outbound NSW moves, accounting for 37.5 per cent of total outbound interstate jobs.
Queensland and Victoria dominated parsed interstate moves, the report noted: “They received 268 of 301 outbound NSW moves and supplied 183 of 195 inbound moves to NSW.”
For agents timing marketing campaigns, auction dates, and settlement periods, the report outlines a distinct spike in mid-summer moving activity.
Moving volume accelerated sharply into early 2026, recording 1,694 completed jobs in H1 2026 compared to 1,236 in H2 2025.
January proved to be the single busiest month of the year with 317 completed moves, followed by secondary peaks in May with 296 moves and April with 282 moves.
“Activity strengthened into early 2026 … January was the busiest month with 317 completed moves… The end of the working week carried the heaviest load. Friday led with 562 jobs and Saturday followed with 523.”
The release also noted that 36.3 per cent of residential pickup locations involved apartments or multi-dwelling complexes.