High cost of living forces ex-couples to keep living together

Almost one in five Australians have continued living with a former romantic partner because they couldn’t afford to move out, a new survey has found. The trend is strongest among younger Australians, with 33 percent of Gen Zs having remained in a shared home with an ex-partner due to restricted finances. This compares to 11 percent of Gen Xers and 5 percent of Baby Boomers.

Finder surveyed 1,049 Australians last month and found that 17 percent had remained living with an ex-partner after breaking up at some stage in their lives. Four percent, which is the equivalent of more than 800,000 people on a population basis, are currently living with an ex-partner for financial reasons. A further 13 percent said they had made this choice in the past but had since moved out.

The cost of housing is significantly higher for people who want to live alone. Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said: “Thousands of Australians decide to separate but remain living together for a prolonged period because they can’t afford to go their separate ways. Living together as a separated couple could be very difficult unless you are on really good terms.”

The cost of moving and living alone in a rented or owned property is not the only challenge. “It’s also incredibly difficult to find suitable accommodation in some parts of Australia right now so staying together under one roof might be the most realistic option in the short-term,” Mr Cooke said.

It is particularly difficult for renters to find a new home quickly in today’s market. Vacancy rates around the country remain very low due to a lack of supply of homes for Australia’s growing population. According to SQM Research, rental vacancy rates are below 1 percent in Adelaide, Perth and Darwin and between 1 and 2 percent in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Hobart. In Canberra, the vacancy rate is 2.2 percent. A balanced market has a 3 percent vacancy rate.

Mr Cooke recommended that people set up a personal emergency savings account to help them cope with a relationship breakdown. “During the honeymoon period of a new relationship very few people are imagining a time when they are no longer compatible. An emergency fund helps people to be financially prepared for the good and the bad,” Mr Cooke said. A separate Finder survey found eight percent of Australians, or 1.6 million people, have a secret bank account for various reasons.

Mr Cooke added that some people who owned a property with their ex-partner felt uncomfortable about potentially moving out. “Some homeowners worry that they will lose out if they leave the family home before any financial settlement but moving out doesn’t diminish your legal rights,” he said.

China’s securities regulator is ramping up support for the country’s embattled equities markets, announcing measures to funnel capital into Chinese stocks.

The aim: to draw in more medium to long-term investment from major funds and insurers and steady the equities market.

The latest round of policy boosts comes as Chinese stocks start the year on a soft note, with investors reluctant to add exposure to the market amid lingering economic woes at home and worries about potential tariffs by U.S. President Trump. Sharply higher tariffs on Chinese exports would threaten what has been one of the sole bright spots for the economy over the past year.

Thursday’s announcement builds on a raft of support from regulators and the central bank, as officials vow to get the economy back on track and markets humming again.

State-owned insurers and mutual funds are expected to play a pivotal role in the process of stabilizing the stock market, financial regulators led by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Finance said at a press briefing.

Insurers will be encouraged to invest 30% of their annual premiums earning from new policies into China’s A-shares market, said Xiao Yuanqi, vice minister at the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

At least 100 billion yuan, equivalent to $13.75 billion, of insurance funds will be invested in stocks in a pilot program in the first six months of the year, the regulators said. Half of that amount is due to be approved before the Lunar New Year holiday starting next week.

China’s central bank chimed in with some support for the stock market too, saying at the press conference that it will continue to lower requirements for companies to get loans for stock buybacks. It will also increase the scale of liquidity tools to support stock buyback “at the proper time.”

That comes after People’s Bank of China in October announced a program aiming to inject around 800 billion yuan into the stock market, including a relending program for financial firms to borrow from the PBOC to acquire shares.

Thursday’s news helped buoy benchmark indexes in mainland China, with insurance stocks leading the gains. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.0% at the midday break, extending opening gains. Among insurers, Ping An Insurance advanced 3.1% and China Pacific Insurance added 3.0%.

Kai Wang, Asia equity market strategist at Morningstar, thinks the latest moves could encourage investment in some of China’s bigger listed companies.

“Funds could end up increasing positions towards less volatile, larger domestic companies. This could end up benefiting some of the large-cap names we cover such as [Kweichow] Moutai or high-dividend stocks,” Wang said.

Shares in Moutai, China’s most valuable liquor brand, were last trading flat.

The moves build on past efforts to inject more liquidity into the market and encourage investment flows.

Earlier this month, the country’s securities regulator said it will work with PBOC to enhance the effectiveness of monetary policy tools and strengthen market-stabilization mechanisms. That followed a slew of other measures introduced last year, including the relaxation of investment restrictions to draw in more foreign participation in the A-share market.

So far, the measures have had some positive effects on equities, but analysts say more stimulus is needed to revive investor confidence in the economy.

Prior enthusiasm for support measures has hardly been enduring, with confidence easily shaken by weak economic data or disappointment over a lack of details on stimulus pledges. It remains to be seen how long the latest market cheer will last.

Mainland markets will be closed for the Lunar New Year holiday from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.

High cost of living forces ex-couples to keep living together

The trend is particularly prevalent among younger couples

The latest round of policy boosts comes as stocks start the year on a soft note