Adult children locked out of the property market and ageing parents who can’t live alone are reshaping what the Australian family home looks like.
The shift reflects a housing market where affordability pressures and family needs are forcing households to rethink what a home is designed to do, with dual occupancy emerging as a clear answer.
New national research by Resolve Finance shows nearly half of Aussies (49 per cent) expect to house an adult child or ageing parent within the next decade.
More than one in 10 (12 per cent) homebuyers were very likely to look for a property with existing dual occupancy, or a property with the potential to convert or build.
Resolve Finance director Don Crellin said dual occupancy was shifting from aspiration to necessity for families balancing finances and care.
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Pictured are the combined Ward, Beckett and Mayor families at the Emu Plains house they all will call home. Picture: Glenn Campbell
“Families are under pressure from both directions,” he said. “Kids are staying home longer, and parents are living longer. Housing needs to adapt, and so does the way it’s financed.”
Mr Crellin said the traditional idea of the family home is being redefined.
Drivers for the shift were both financial and personal, nearly half (46 per cent) said dual occupancy helps improve affordability, while 41 per cent also see it as a way to generate income.
Demand is highest from the midlife “sandwich generation” who are either supporting kids who stay home longer, or preparing to care for ageing parents.
More than half of 25 to 34-year-olds (55 per cent) and 35 to 44-year-olds (52 per cent) say they would consider dual occupancy, alongside 40 per cent of those aged 45 to 54.
By state, intent is strongest in Queensland (45 per cent), Victoria (42 per cent) and NSW (40 per cent), compared with 27 per cent in Western Australia.
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Tamika and Djaru Ward, Martin and Georgina Beckett, Amelia Mayor 12, and Timothy and Cassandra Beckett with children Malaki Wards Brooks 11, Grayson Ward 1, Josiah Ward 3 and Tristian Mayor 10. Picture: Glenn Campbell
NSW homeowners Martin and his wife Georgina Beckett are in the process of a complete knockdown and rebuild for their family.
The plan is for a dual occupancy build for the Beckett’s two children (and their families), Tamica Ward (husband and three kids), and Timothy Beckett (wife and two children), and a single bedroom granny flat at the back of the property for Martin and Georgina to live in.
The journey to support his two children and their kids back into the property market.
“We’ve had our kids grow up, they’ve got married, the cost of living has gone up and properties have gone through the roof and my kids have both been in the market and got out of the market because of high interest rates,” Mr Beckett said.
“We thought, how do we get them back into the market and looking around, you can’t buy anything out here for under a $1m.
“I said why don’t we knock down our beautiful home and build three dwellings on site, like a multi-generational home.”
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New research has revealed a rise in dual occupancy reshaping the traditional family home. Picture: Glenn Campbell
The build structure via Zac Homes will allow all six adults to support their families, obtaining home ownership for all and supporting costs and expenses.
“We’re building a large eight bedroom home on the property, which is going to give them both their autonomy, they’re going to have separate living spaces,” Mr Beckett said.
“Tamika and Timothy, my children are married, so Timothy and his wife, Kathy, are going to occupy one half of the property and Tamika and her partner, Djaru and their children are going to occupy the other half.
“We (Martin and Georgina) are going to have the granny flat, which is going to be based in the backyard.
“We have the designs, the house is ready to go, we just need the bank to give us a tick, which we’re in the process.”
Martin Beckett with Grandson Grayson 1 with the combined Ward, Beckett and Mayor families at the Emu Plains house they all will call home. Picture: Glenn Campbell
Another influence for the journey is Mr Beckett’s role as CEO and founder of Charity Christ Mission possible, a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation dedicated to making a meaningful difference for homelessness.
“As a charity, we have 200 plus homeless people that were bedding down every night in our accommodation locally, we call rapid rehousing programs, which are in the rental market, which is getting harder to do,” he said.
“I’m getting increasingly frustrated with government plans and they don’t seem to think out of the box, so a lot of my ideas around my family is how do we do something and then model something.
“If this is a success and if we get it over the line and it works, which we’re feeling like it is about to, it’s something that as an organisation, I would like to champion as well.
“Because I know a lot of families whose kids can’t afford property and are living in rentals, they’re paying way too much money for, that they might own a property in the family somewhere and if you can say, it can be done.”
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