The stay-at-home generation: More young Australians are living with their parents for longer

A rising number of young Australians are remaining in the family home after finishing school, as economic and social factors drive them to delay independent living, according to new research. And they’re staying longer, with a marked increase in 20-somethings still living at home over the past two decades.

Just over 54 percent of young men and 47 percent of young women aged between 18 and 29 years are still living in the family home, according to the 18^th annual report for the longitudinal Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The survey tracks the lives of 17,000 Australians and reports each year on various aspects of life, including health and education, household and family relationships, and income and work. The latest HILDA data was collected in 2021 during the pandemic.

HILDA Survey Co-Director, Professor Roger Wilkins from Melbourne University, said the trend of more young people remaining in the family home began in the early 2000s. He attributes it to a variety of social and economic elements.

“We’ve seen a rise in higher education participation, declining full-time employment opportunities for young people, a rising cost in housing, and a trend towards later marriage and family formation,” he said.

Over the past 20 years, the prevalence of young people living with their parents has been highest among those aged 18 to 21 years, which is unsurprising given these are the first few years of post-school adulthood when many young people are studying and unable to work full time. However, the data also shows that young people are living with mum and dad for longer periods — and well into their 20s.

Among 18 to 29-year-olds, the age category that has seen the most growth in young men living at home is 22 to 25 years. It’s up 12 percent from 42.1 percent in 2001 to 54.1 percent in 2021. Among women, the age category with the highest growth is 18 to 21 years, up 17.6 percent from 61.9 percent in 2001 to 79.5 percent in 2021. The age category with the second highest growth rate for both men and women is 26 to 29 years, up 9.9 percent for men and 11.6 percent for women since 2001.

Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at Melbourne University, Lyn Craig, said the trend has broad macroeconomic implications for Australia. “Since the mid-20-teens, fertility has fallen below replacement in Australia for the first time and I think that has something to do with the price of housing and young people not being able to afford to establish an independent household away from parents,” she said.

During the early 2000s when this trend began, the Australian housing market was in a boom and buying was difficult for young people to afford. Today, simply renting has become hard to afford, particularly following a 40 percent surge in rents nationally since the pandemic began.

While some young people are constrained by economic factors, others are likely delaying independence by choice, Professor Wilkins said.

“Some young people would like to start their adulthood journey and to have their own home but Australia’s economic conditions aren’t allowing that. On the positive side, as a richer society with longer life expectancy, perhaps some young people are making a rational and conscious choice to delay getting into the hard yakka of life. They decide to enjoy themselves and have some fun while they are still young.”

One of Burleigh Heads’ most architecturally significant penthouses has hit the market for the first time since its completion five years ago.

The listing provides the first real look inside the two-level penthouse crowning Norfolk, Forme’s award-winning Goodwin Terrace development which was completed in 2021.

The penthouse sold off the plan for $5.35 million around 18 months before construction was completed and has remained tightly held ever since, meaning its resale offers the first insight inside one of Burleigh’s most architecturally impressive apartment buildings.

The four-bedroom residence spans approximately 461 sqm, comprising 276 sqm of internal living and a further 185 sqm of outdoor space across its two levels.

Its position on Goodwin Terrace gives the penthouse one of the Gold Coast’s comparatively rare true north-to-water aspects, with views stretching from Burleigh Headland along the coastline towards the towers of Surfers Paradise. Floor-to-ceiling glazing has been used extensively throughout the residence, framing the ocean outlook from almost every principal living space.

Forme, led by Managing Director David Calvisi, acquired the prime 1,012 sqm site, formerly home to The Fish House restaurant, before developing Norfolk as the first new multi-residential project delivered on Goodwin Terrace in around three decades.

The strength of the location was clear. The more unusual proposition was the building itself.

Forme appointed Koichi Takada Architects to design the 10-level development, marking the practice’s first Gold Coast building. Rather than treating Norfolk’s beachfront setting as a backdrop, Takada used the Norfolk Island pines along the foreshore as the basis for the architecture.

Curved balcony slabs and horizontal battens create the building’s distinctive layered exterior. Sliding timber screens can be repositioned for privacy, shade and protection from the coastal conditions, continuously changing the appearance of the façade.

Takada has compared the concept to the structure of a pinecone, whose overlapping layers open and close according to environmental conditions. In an earlier account of the project, the architect said the objective was to celebrate the site and create a stronger connection between the residences and the elements outside.

The response helped turn Norfolk into an architectural marker for Burleigh’s transformation.

Norfolk comprises 12 half-floor apartments, two dual-level penthouses and one two-level beach house. MIM Design created the interiors, Hutchinson Builders undertook construction and Plus Architecture supplied documentation services for the builder.

Inside Residence 901, MIM Design’s restrained palette brings together timber, natural stone and tailored joinery without competing with the outlook. Travertine surfaces have subsequently received paint-protection film, while the home is being offered with a custom furniture package.

A private lift opens directly into the main living level. Living, dining and media spaces are arranged along the view, accompanied by a concealed bar and a broad north-eastern terrace.

The kitchen has an oversized stone island, European appliances and bespoke cabinetry, supported by a butler’s pantry and separate scullery. An integrated RTI system controls lighting, climate, fans, security, entertainment and audio using in-home touchscreens or a smartphone application.

The principal suite occupies a private wing with ocean views, a dressing room and ensuite. Two additional bedrooms have their own ensuites, while a fourth bedroom can operate as an executive study. A concealed Murphy bed allows that room to accommodate guests when required.

The rooftop is what moves the residence beyond even a generously proportioned beachfront apartment.

Reserved exclusively for the penthouse, it contains a heated lap pool, landscaped gardens, several entertaining areas and an alfresco kitchen with a built-in barbecue. An integrated outdoor cinema allows the rooftop to function as an open-air screening room above the Pacific.

Four side-by-side secure car spaces, dedicated electric-vehicle charging and private storage address practical constraints often encountered by prestige-apartment buyers. The parking allocation is particularly relevant for owners moving from a large house or maintaining a car collection.

Norfolk’s wider amenities include a beach-club-style residents’ area, swimming pool, gymnasium and sauna. Burleigh Beach is directly opposite, while James Street, Burleigh Head National Park and restaurants including Rick Shores and The Tropic are within walking distance.

The building’s reputation has also moved well beyond its beachfront address. Norfolk received both jury and popular-choice honours in the mid-rise multi-unit housing category at the 2022 Architizer A+Awards. It won a Queensland Australian Institute of Architects award for multiple housing and was named the 2022 Medium-Density Residential Development of the Year by The Urban Developer. Further recognition came from the Master Builders awards and Architecture MasterPrize.

Calvisi later said the aim with Norfolk was to produce something the Gold Coast had not previously seen.

The penthouse is being marketed through expressions of interest by Dean Pegoraro of Whitefox Gold Coast.

The stay-at-home generation: More young Australians are living with their parents for longer

Housing affordability, higher rates of tertiary study and delayed marriage are likely drivers

A two-level penthouse atop Burleigh Heads’ award-winning Norfolk development has hit the market for the first time, offering sweeping ocean views and a private rooftop pool.