Multiple generations squeeze under one roof to combat housing, cost-of-living crisis
Australia's housing crisis has seen 44-year-old Clint Sailes steadily renovate his home to accommodate more family members.
While it might seem unusual, it is a return to the past when double the number of Australians lived in standalone homes.
Over the past two years, Mr Sailes has added extra bathrooms and kitchenettes to his Gold Coast hinterland property.
The huge double-storey house backs onto bushland and has plenty of outdoor space to keep the peace between his 10 family members.
He said he wanted to look after his ageing parents and save his kids from spending a fortune in Queensland's most unaffordable rental market.
The median weekly rent for a Gold Coast property increased to $750 in March 2025, a rise of $50 compared to the same time last year.
"It's tough for kids these days, so whatever we can do to help them out early on in life we will do that," Mr Sailes said.
The Gold Coast's housing crisis has become so bad that its residents are squeezing more family members into their space so they can enjoy the city's enviable coastal lifestyle.
The latest Real Estate Institute of Queensland data showed the city's March 2025 quarter vacancy rate was 1 per cent.
It does not help that recent Australian Bureau of Statistics data indicated the number of new homes being built across the country is well below the amount needed to meet the National Housing Accord target.
Closer to the Gold Coast strip, Kerry and Lindsay Clare's beachside home can comfortably sleep 20 people across two buildings.
The Clares live and work in one home, while their two sons, daughter-in-law, and granddaughters live next door.
The couple, who are both architects, have been celebrated for their design at the Australian Institute of Architects Queensland Awards.
The building has been designed with space and privacy in mind and the Clares can go days without seeing their sons, even though they are only a few metres away.
"There are plenty of different ways in and out of the site," Ms Clare said.
She said sliding doors and windows meant rooms could be built out or closed off to suit different needs at different times.
"You need enough little social spaces, and what we've done here is make a lot of different indoor and outdoor spaces," Ms Clare said.
"Everyone should have their focus on being able to provide flexibility in housing, but I'm not sure if developers can deliver it."
Cohabiting with extended family members is not a new idea. Australians used to live with double the number of people in their homes.
The last census showed the average Australian household size had shrunk to 2.5 people in 2021, compared to 4.5 people per home in 1911.
Griffith University researcher Heather Shearer said it was a worrying trend considering that, on average, Australians built some of the largest houses in the developed world.
The average Sydney home is more than seven times the size of properties in Tokyo, and Japan has managed to avoid falling into a housing crisis like Australia has.
Dr Shearer said building intergenerational homes was not a quick fix for the housing crisis, but could be part of the solution and combat urban sprawl.
"Our housing mix needs to be more diverse; we need more townhouses and duplexes," she said.
"Can houses be designed for two couples or three generations where you can actually have privacy within the same house?"
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