Generation boomerang: Young adults move home as ship has sailed on owning a home
Young Aussies who’ve lived independently are now ‘boomeranging’ back to bank on support by mum and dad amid the cost of living crunch.
NSW
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Young Aussies who’ve lived independently are now flocking back to bank on support by mum and dad amid the cost of living crunch, with experts warning that so-called “boomerang kids” are set to become the new normal.
More than one in 10 young Aussies either moved back in with their parents or had an adult child return home according to Finder data from 2023, but demographer Mark McCrindle said the number of young adults living back home would now be much higher.
Mr McCrindle said the trend of adult children moving out of home and living independently, before “boomeranging” back to live with their parents in their 20s and 30s, had grown “consistently”.
“In the last decade, the proportion of 20-somethings living with their parents who are (earning their own wages) has increased by more than a quarter,” Mr McCrindle said.
“These are young adults who are leaving home to carve out their own independence, but that often doesn’t last, so they boomerang back largely due to rising costs.
“There has been an increase in the cost of living, and particularly housing, both buying and renting, and there are also broader social factors that we see with young people staying in study longer, delaying their careers for that reason, delaying parenthood. It is quite a big shift back from just a couple of generations ago when 18, 19, 20 marked the age of independence.”
The most recent census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2021 found 51 per cent of young men aged 20-24 were living at home, up from 46 per cent in 2006, while 43 per cent of young women lived with their parents in 2021, up from 36 per cent in 2006.
Mr McCrindle expected the figures to be much higher in the census next year, estimating more than one in three people aged 20-24 and one in five people aged 25-29 will be living under a parent’s roof.
Experts point to different social, economic and cultural factors to explain the boomerang phenomenon, but they all tend to agree housing is the root cause. Economist Warren Hogan said soaring rents, unattainable house prices and taxes were “killing aspiration”.
“I’m worried the affordability issue has got so bad that young people are no longer even thinking seriously about property ownership, which means they are not as engaged with their long term future,” he said.
“It’s very hard for young people to save for a house while renting but it still takes time even if you’re living at home rent-free.”
After spending almost 10 years renting on her own, Liz Upcroft has moved in with partner James Martin, his parents and brother in Harrington Park.
The couple, both 28, say the move is helping them save about $600 a week to buy a home of their own.
“Liz was struggling to save while renting so, by living at home, we can put out money together and save a bit quicker,” Mr Martin said.
“Her rent was taking up all the money she would have saved, between $400-600 a week depending on where she was living at the time, and the rest of her money was going towards daily living expenses. We wanted to (get more serious) and living together, at home gives us a bit more of leg up.”
Mr Martin’s mum Angela said: “Anything we can do to help James and Liz, we will.”
Home ownership is now an “impossible dream” for young Sydneysiders with the median house price now 13 times the average salary, according to the latest Australian Property Institute Valuation Report.
Exclusive data from comparison service Finder paints a similar picture, with 20 per cent of Millennials and 16 per cent of Gen Z saying the ship has sailed on owning a home.
It’s driving people like Armidale’s Cotter Litchfield, 22 to leave the city and head back to their home towns after finishing study and apprenticeships.
For Mr Litchfield, the novelty of life in Sydney wore off after he spent a year in the big city. He now saves “upwards of $600” per week living at home.
“I wanted to get out of Armidale and try something new – go to a different place, go to university, get a degree done. I thought Sydney was the best spot to go and develop a bit of independence,” he said.
“I came home for comfort … it’s easy, it’s familiar, and saving money, especially at such a young age, it’s good to get a little bit of a foothold in your savings and start building them up.”
For 24-year-old Eryn Norris, returning home was a no-brainer. After six months living out of home on The Central Coast, she decided to head back to her mum’s Kariong property, saying living on her own was “just so expensive”.
Like many she now lives in a “van home” in the backyard. Granny flats are also popular as the boomerang phenomenon sparks trends of its own.
“It still gives me that independence to have my own life and do what I need to do … but mum is still there for any support that I do need,” she said.
Ms Norris said she saves about $200 a week by living at home. Instead of paying $500 a week to rent in the area, she now spends about $300 weekly to pay off her van.
VanHomes chief executive Vito Russo said inquiries for his vans have grown by 200 per cent in two years as young people seek alternatives to the Aussie dream. Mr Russo sold 500 van homes in 2024 compared to just 12 homes when he started in 2008, with his $110,000 two-bed van the most popular among 21 to 35-year-olds.
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Originally published as Generation boomerang: Young adults move home as ship has sailed on owning a home
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