People are prepared to move away from major cities for a bigger house and better lifestyle.
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A survey of more than 1300 Westpac customers has found the Covid-19 pandemic had prompted people to rethink how they live, with a third willing to move for more space, while nearly half would shift for a better lifestyle.
"Households seem to be feeling the lure of the regions," Westpac NZ general manager of consumer banking and wealth Ian Hankins said, noting 21 percent of respondents pondered a move to a smaller town or city, while just 7 percent were weighing up a shift to a bigger centre.
"Priorities have changed since the pandemic and this might be the year people take a chance on a lifestyle change," he said.
The survey also found people have got creative around working from home arrangements, with nearly a quarter (24 percent] respondents who work from home spending most of their time in the kitchen or dining room, 23 percent in the living room and 12 percent in a bedroom.
"Just over a third did most of their work in a study or home office," he said.
"Most of us are spending more time at home these days, so it's not surprising that more than one in five of us have set up a workstation at home, while one in 20 have gone the whole hog and converted a bedroom to a study."
He said the ability to work from home was another reason why people were prepared to move to a smaller centre.
"Now with remote working becoming more common and property prices much cheaper outside the main cities, the pulling power of the 'big smoke' may be reversing."