Is multi-generation living the answer for first home buyers?

If you’re living with your parents, finding it tough to enter the property market, then you’re certainly not alone.

With property prices increasing, it’s becoming more common for multiple generations to live together in one home, according to QM Properties’ sales manager Damien Ross.

While many have heard of the granny flat, for keeping elderly relatives at the family home with their own privacy, it’s not quite as common to build a property from the ground up with a multi-generational family in mind.

“Young people are staying at home longer and often couples are living with their parents so they can save for their first home,” explains Ross.

The idea of living at home to save a larger deposit is compelling for many first timers and it’s likely that this will increasingly be the case should property prices continue to rise.

This trend is now so established that builders are creating homes designed specifically for multi-generational living.

For instance, NuTrend has offered a ‘Dual Living’ design that includes a floor plan splitting into two separate homes with one common fire wall. They even suggest that the outside living areas could be divided with a wall, hedge or fence. With two kitchens, three or four bedrooms, three bathrooms and separate entries, it’s close to, but not quite, a duplex.

“The home is not a duplex, it is still within Residential A zoning so there are no related council fees that come with duplex sites,” said Ross.

“NuTrend have built six of these homes already at our Forest Pines estate on the Sunshine Coast.”

It’s expected that this type of home will become more common in areas with median prices out of reach for many buyers. Ross notes that Burderim, with a median price for a three bedroom home sitting at $455,000, is one of these locations with larger land sizes that make this new type of home easier to build.

There are a number of designs for different block shapes, but all are single level and fit easily onto 600 square metres or more.

At Forest Pines home sites cost upwards of $249,000, spanning from 462 square metres.

For investor buyers the home has separate services connected.