An unusual solution has emerged that could ease the rental crisis for young Australians and eliminate a problem plaguing the older population. Rents have skyrocketed in Australia’s capital cities, pushing Generation Z and Millennials to the brink as they have to fork over a larger portion of their stagnant salaries to keep a roof over their heads.
At the same time, baby boomers and the silent generation have been asked to downsize to make room for younger families. But former real estate agent Jack said Yahoo Finance This may result in older Australians buying up smaller homes and excluding first-time buyers.
“There was a perception that if the baby boomers left their homes it would be much easier for all of us, but that’s not really the case,” he said.
This is where HomeShare comes into play.
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The initiative matches young Australians looking for a place to stay with an older person who has a spare room.
Not only does it provide accommodation for someone who may be struggling to enter the rental market, but it also provides companionship for someone who may be living alone.
Sabrina is a 27-year-old student who moved in with 99-year-old Marjorie and became good friends.
“It’s nice to have a friend in the house, someone you feel comfortable with, and we share a lot of things, and we have quite a few interests… even in our age group,” explained Marjorie A current affair.
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“Marjorie hates wasting things, so I learned a lot about saving things and using them…yes, advice for men,” Sabrina added.
“Marjorie gave me some tips on where to go and she advised me to show myself more and be a little more flirtatious. She wants me to find a husband.”
The student said it had been “very difficult” to find suitable and affordable rental accommodation on her own and she was “overwhelmed” by the tightness of the housing market. Marjorie revealed that she had worked in a care home for a while but that was not for her and she would prefer to live in her own accommodation.
How does HomeShare work?
Sabrina said the HomeShare initiative involves many steps to ensure two people are a good match, such as police background checks, referee exams and multiple interviews.
HANZA, the HomeShare Australia and New Zealand Alliance, is the dual nationality organisation that represents the initiative in our area and has been helping people find housing for more than two decades.
You can register for the program here.
This may not be the most likely scenario, but it could kill two birds with one stone.
How Aussies deal with ren rise to record levels
New figures show that more and more people are choosing to live in shared apartments or with relatives as rents continue to skyrocket.
The latest Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA) economic report shows that rents are rising at their fastest rate in over a decade as demand for housing exceeds supply.
As a result, household behaviour has changed: many people are “saving” and opting for shared accommodation rather than living alone or in a partnership.
The current proportion of people living in shared accommodation is around five percent of the Australian population over 15 years of age, according to the report.
This represents an increase of one percent or around 200,000 people compared to the 2020-2021 period.
Economist Stephen Wu said the number of people living with other relatives, such as siblings, cousins and grandparents, has also increased.
“With the continued slowdown in population growth, changes in household formation are increasing average household size and beginning to dampen housing demand while supply growth remains constrained,” Wu said.
“The advertised rents are further evidence that rent inflation may slow down (albeit gradually) from now on.”
In addition to the significant change in household composition, rents are increasing by nine percent on an annual basis – the strongest growth since 2008.
– with NCA Newswire
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