By the end of the year, Zoya Fong and Saajid Khan hope to call themselves home owners.
But for now the young married couple are living with Zoya's parents and her younger brother in their Googong home just outside of Canberra.
Despite both working full-time, the fluctuating housing market and the rising cost of living means their dream of owning a home feels constantly out of reach.
"It feels like the closer that we get [to achieving it], the further away the goal gets," Zoya said.
The couple is among a growing cohort of adult children who are living at home for varying reasons such as saving for a deposit, for cultural reasons, and because they can't afford to move out.
For Zoya, 26, and Saajid, 27, it's a mixture of all three.
Zoya's family moved to Australia in 2000, and Saajid relocated to Australia from Fiji two years ago, about a year after he married Zoya.
"Back in Fiji … it's quite a normal thing for extended families to [co-]exist," Saajid said.
Zoya and Saajid pay about $300 a week in rent to her parents — something that Zoya's mum Doreen Shah doesn't ask for, but said does help with the mortgage.
"I don't force them to pay because I want them to save for their house, so they can build their dream house," Doreen said.
For the young couple, the current arrangement is not a one-way street; they hope Saajid's mother or Zoya's parents will be able to live with them in their own home one day.
'Living from pay cheque to pay cheque'
More young adults are living with their parents, an Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) 2023 report found.
The research looked at ABS Census data as far back as 2006, with a comparison of 2016 and 2021 survey figures showing the sharpest rise in recent decades.
Report co-author Lixia Qu noted the 2021 Census captured data during the pandemic, but said it was likely the trend of young people living at home was "ongoing".
She wouldn't be surprised if the next national survey, in 2026, showed another rise.
"We all know how rental market and how housing affordability has only worsened significantly," Dr Qu said.
The high cost of housing is a reality Missi Tsivili faces every day.
The full-time mum, her husband, and their two children live with Missi's parents in a rental in Broadmeadows in Melbourne's north because they can't afford to live by themselves.
"We do want to move out, but the only problem is the cost of housing," Missi said.
While she looks after the couple's one-year-old daughter and four-year-old son, Missi's husband works in a factory, picking and packing items for distribution by a major supermarket.
The cost of living means the young family is not able to consider leaving the parental home.
"We've been living from pay cheque to pay cheque, so it's been like kind of rough, trying to sort out how much groceries we can get," Missi said.
Instead of buying steak, the family buy mince, which they can get for under $10.
Missi also keeps an eye out for cheap nappies, and no longer buys her preferred brand as it's too expensive.
In Googong, Zoya and Saajid were keen to gain some independence and have their own space, but they looked at rental properties and found the cost prohibitive.
"Renting in Canberra is so expensive," Zoya said.
"One tiny little place was … like $600 per week for rent, which is insane. And on top of that, the bills.
"It's better to live at home where I'm paying rent, but much less rent, and it's going to my family."
'People can look after each other'
For Amanda Kan, living with her 36-year-old son "will save money" on housing costs but it's not the main reason they live together in Melbourne's east.
Amanda and her husband, who immigrated from Shandong province in China to Australia 17 years ago, live with their son in Surrey Hills, close to a large Mandarin-speaking community in Box Hill.
In Chinese culture it is common that multiple generations — even three or four generations — choose to live together.
She knows many of her friends are keen to live apart from their children and grandchildren, but Amanda is happy to live with her son until he is married.
"It is very convenient, and people can look after each other," she said.
"My English is not too good so my son can help me out."
Amanda, who is in her 60s, said her son is happy to live with them too.
"I am still young, and we enjoy keeping each other's company, just like the time in China."
Young adults from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds were more likely to live with parents, the 2023 AIFS report found.
"We also found not only do they live with parents for longer, they are also likely to return home if they experience any difficulty," Dr Qu said.
Finding harmony
There are pros and cons of young people living with parents, Dr Qu said.
"Parents and children can build up a close bond" and support each other with things like navigating technology or saving money for a house.
"But if the two generations have different habits and different lifestyles … sometimes tension can arise," she said.
Doreen designed and built the home the family live in, and she always imagined having space for her adult children.
"When I came to Australia, I came with a loan of $3,000 and I struggled to build this house," she said.
"It's like I've achieved my goal, but it took me 24 years, and I'm still paying it."
Despite her struggle, Doreen said it was a lot harder now for her children to save up for a house deposit than it was for her and her husband.
In their Googong home, Doreen does most of the cooking — often Indian aloo curries and Fijian dishes like lovo, cooked in the ground with hot stones.
The young couple cook two days a week and handle most of the cleaning.
Her daughter Zoya said they all split groceries and share the use of her parents' car, but balancing it out is something that's always in the back of her mind.
Dr Qu said it was important all adults had a clear understanding of what everyone's responsibilities and expectations in the house are.
"I think most importantly a mutual respect that will go a long way."
For Zoya, having her husband live in the family home meant changing the family dynamic, but they say they've found a kind of harmony.
"I think we all have very different personalities, for sure," she said.
"We are from the same country, but we are from very different cultures. I've grown up here, and he's grown up back home.
"There are ups and downs, like every family does have, but overall, I think it's pretty good."
Doreen has mixed feelings about her daughter and son-in-law reaching their milestone of a house deposit and buying their own place.
"We're all family ... I think when they leave, it will leave a gap. We might miss them and want them back here again."
