Young, anchored and free? Examining the dynamics of early housing pathways in Australia

Abstract

Young people are remaining in the parental home for longer, and returning there more frequently, before they attain residential independence. In Australia, these patterns have prompted concerns about the emergence of a 'boomerang generation' whose housing aspirations and decisions have either been directly questioned, or viewed as symptomatic of broader affordability issues. Employing a longitudinal perspective, we argue that early residential pathways reflect a mix of stable and dynamic influences involving individuals, their families, and their broader relationships. Using data from a large cohort (n=2,082) of young Australians participating in the 'Our Lives' research project, we examine housing pathway formation between the ages of 12/13 and 21/22. Events such as parental dissolution or partnership formation were found to encourage home leaving, whilst being employed at a younger age and having grown up in a rural area predicted both leaving and remaining out of home. There were also signs that close, supportive relationships with family members and friends served to 'anchor' respondents at home for longer, and that parental socioeconomic resources enabled respondents to leave home and return if needed. Overall, our findings suggest that early residential independence reflects various factors, not all of which are in young people's control, and some of which bring the longer-term sustainability of their living arrangements into question.

Happy Times: an Exploration of How Australian Young Adults Define Happiness

“…Life events typically associated with the achievement of adulthood are now gradually becoming more unpredictable and non-linear (Arnett, 2000;Côté & Bynner, 2008). This is observed in young people moving out from parental home later or returning to the family home, delayed entry to the labour market and entry to graduate-level jobs, as well as extended periods of financial precariousness (Chesters et al, 2019;Tomaszewski et al 2016;Woodman & Wyn, 2015). Though with complex and varied social impacts (Roberts and France 2021), the diversification of life pathways has occurred in response to larger-scale structural processes such as globalisation, technological advancement and economic fluctuation (Côté & Bynner, 2008;France, 2016).…”

Understanding changing housing aspirations: a review of the evidence

“…The dynamics of semi-dependent living, such as extended parental co-residence and returning home, varies considerably between nations (Tomaszewski et al, 2017), again underlining the role of welfare regimes and housing market contexts Lennartz et al, 2016). In the UK, returning to the parental home is still relatively uncommon and decreases with age, with the completion of higher education one of the strongest drivers (Stone et al, 2014).…”

Interrogating waithood: family and housing life stage transitions among young adults in North-West Africa countries

“…Sheltered student housing enables some to make cushioned first steps out of their parents' homes (Rugg, Ford, & Burrows, 2004). Their next steps, and the first steps for those who do not progress through higher education, are typically into privately rented housing, sometimes shared with others in similar situations (Clark, Tuffin, Frewin, & Bowker, 2017;Heath, 1999;Heath & Kenyon, 2001;Roberts, 2013;Tomaszewski et al, 2017). Needless to say, opportunities and difficulties vary depending on local balances between housing supply and demand (Jones, 2001), on national regimes of housing tenure and state welfare (see Antonucci, 2016;Arundel & Ronald, 2016;Lesnard, Cousteaux, Chanvril, & V., 2016), and also on the extent to which young people can be assisted by parents and grandparents (Druta & Ronald, 2017).…”