Taking their cue from Asia, Africa and Latin America, where it’s not uncommon for different generations of families to live under one roof, more and more Australian families are following suit.
A NEW WAY OF LIVING
Research, led by Dr Edgar Liu from UNSW City Futures Research Centre, shows one in five Australian families live in multi-generational houses — and for Sydneysiders, it’s one in four. Spiralling house prices are putting the dream of home ownership out of reach for many, so an alternative approach is to pool financial resources with family members and shift into a larger well-planned home.
Dr Liu says housing affordability is definitely pushing the trend. “You have young people who, increasingly, are unable to afford to leave home and at the same time, you have their parents and grandparents experiencing perhaps similar financial stress,” he says. Australians are also living longer, so for many it makes good sense to have ageing parents under the one roof to reduce the financial burden of aged care, and to offer
