According to Dr Edgar Liu of the UNSW City Futures Research Centre, housing affordability is one of the key drivers of multigenerational living’s recent growth. It’s estimated that one in five Australians lives in some sort of multigenerational household in Australia, or one quarter in Sydney.
Why is multigenerational living returning and why are dual occupancy homes a potential answer to the growth in this trend?
Demographic Changes
As of 2023, Australia’s fertility rate was recorded by the Bureau of Statistics at an all-time low of 1.50 births per woman. Families are much smaller than they used to be, which means that – all other things held constant – houses don’t need as many bedrooms or as much space in general.
Contrast this with the builder’s generation and those before, where for example Australia’s fertility rate was around 3.41 in 1958 and gradually declining since.
Moreover, the post-war boom also brought unprecedented wealth and prosperity which allowed for larger homes to be purchased. Naturally, this is also tied in with economics and overall individual wealth and purchasing power. While exaggerated, the meme of the boomer generation buying a home for a carton of raisins and six beers has some truth.
Many young Australians have little to no hope of home ownership and the asking price seems like a unreachable goal within a lifetime. This puts pressure on the young generations to remain at home with family until much later on in life.
Cultural & Societal Influences
One thing that can be easy to forget is that the post-war wealth enjoyed by the boomer generation was not the norm. It was, globally and historically, a rare exception to everything that had come before and what is still the case in most of the developing and undeveloped world.
For many years, Australians have been able to move out of their parents’ homes at a young age and purchase their own home. This is not common in most of the developing world at all and is fairly rare in countries like Italy or Spain, where it’s quite common to find men and women remaining at home with their parents well into their 30s.
The culture that many of us believe is the norm is actually the exception, and Australia is quietly going back to conditions where multigenerational living just makes sense. This comes from the youngest and oldest age brackets, both of whom are feeling financial pressure.
Financially, there is sometimes no other option than to move in with family members. This is often the case with immigrant families from countries such as China, where culturally it has long been normal for grandparents to raise their grandchildren whilst the parents work.
Sharing a home with senior parents and young children has many advantages that have sadly been lost for a couple of generations, but of course it can have some disadvantages and many of us may need time to get accustomed to multigenerational living.
Why Dual Occupancy Homes are Ideal for Multigenerational Living
Sharing a home with family doesn’t necessarily mean having to feel a lack of privacy. Privacy is quite a luxury, but it can be had whilst living near family members.
Dual occupancy homes are a perfect solution to multigenerational living and allow families to remain close enough for comfort and joy. One unit can act as a sort of granny flat whilst the other is for you and your spouse, for example, both offering great privacy but also proximity.
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