The survey, conducted by Anderson and Co Resource Management, targeted more than 200 homeowners in new housing developments in Waverley, St Clair, Fairfield and Mosgiel, and those who had bought their former homes.
The survey had about 80 responses - a 40% response rate.
Anderson and Co planner Conrad Anderson said the survey aimed to trace the flow-on effects of new-home buying.
''We believe this project is important to Dunedin, as it will provide rich information about the rationale and flow-on effects of new housing in Dunedin,'' he said. ''Most people moving to a new or near-new home have sold a house.
''We want to explore who purchased the old house and why. This will provide a picture of the flow-on effect of a new house, and thus inform us on some of Dunedin's housing secrets.''
Preliminary results showed Waverley had the largest percentage of people new to Dunedin buying there.
The major attributes buyers were interested in were views, sun, access to amenities, and school zones.
Responses from Mosgiel and Fairfield owners suggested loyalty was one motive for buyers, as many respondents had already lived in the area, Mr Anderson said. Homeowners in Fairfield had the greatest variety of reasons for buying there, indicating a mix of developments could be appropriate in the area, Mr Anderson said.
The St Clair development had attracted the largest spread of people living within the Dunedin area. People moving to St Clair made the largest financial step-up from their previous homes.
The average home bought by survey participants in St Clair had a rateable value of $600,000; the average rateable value of the new owners' previous homes was $400,000.
One new St Clair resident, Chris Thomsen, had been living in Kaikorai before he moved to St Clair.
''It was the most effective way to get us all the things we wanted in a house at a relatively affordable price.''
Anderson and Co director Don Anderson said he hoped the information collected in the survey would be of use to Dunedin City Council planners. The survey is still open online at www.RMApro.co.nz
HOUSING FACTS
• 118,683 people usually live in Dunedin city. This is an increase of 3.8% since the 2001 Census.
• There are 44,394 households in Dunedin.
• The number of unoccupied dwellings in Dunedin rose from 3612 in 2006 (8% of all dwellings) to 3915 in 2013 (8.4%). The total number of dwellings in Dunedin increased 3.4% from 45,072 in 2006 to 46,590 in 2013.
• One-family households make up 63.6% of all households in Dunedin City.
• One-person households, with 11,595 people (9.7% of residents), make up 26.4% of households.
• The average household size in Dunedin City is 2.5 people, compared with a New Zealand average of 2.7 people.
• In Dunedin city, 55.3% of households in private occupied dwellings own the dwelling, with or without a mortgage.
