Townsville a big draw for many

TOWNSVILLE is experiencing a net positive gain of about 25 to 30 per cent in the number of people wanting to move here, compared with those wanting to move out, according to online booking platform Muval.

The platform, which helps people arrange home removals, revealed the estimate as part of its assessment of searches by people looking for services on its website.

“We are seeing a net positive gain from our search engine in Townsville and Cairns,” Muval chief commercial officer Adam Coward said.

“For Townsville, about 25 to 30 per cent more people are looking to move in than move out. It’s generally a net positive gain for Townsville. We see the same thing in Cairns.”

But he said for Muval the amount of inquiries for Cairns was about 50 per cent more than that for Townsville.

Mr Coward said that there was a predominance of people looking to retire and “downsize” by moving to Cairns, while for Townsville, many people were moving here for work.