00:00It's morning tea time at this home in Wollongong and there's no shortage of hands to help out.
00:08I live here with my partner and my child and two of my best friends and their two children.
00:14This isn't your typical share house.
00:17Faced with skyrocketing house prices in the Illawarra,
00:20these two separate families decided to purchase the property together in 2021.
00:26Now they all live between the main house and a granny flat out the back.
00:32Chores are shared, the shopping goes on a list and babysitting is almost guaranteed.
00:38A setup that suits both their outlook and their budget.
00:42It ultimately just meant that it was actually possible because if we'd, you know,
00:47we'd be living in a tiny apartment or, you know,
00:49probably we wouldn't have been able to purchase a house at all if we were just on our own.
00:53I hope that this kind of model will, gives people inspiration to try something different.
00:59A few suburbs over, five couples have purchased this seven bedroom home for a different stage of life, retirement.
01:07Our plan is that all ten of us will live here.
01:10That's what we're working towards. We're calling it a crazy experiment.
01:14The kitchen can get crowded but the shared meals and conversation are helping them navigate a time that can be prone to isolation and loneliness.
01:24The reason we're doing this is because it's financially helpful for all of us to share our funds,
01:30to move away together rather than to be apart and socially to stay really connected.
01:40The Bureau of Statistics predicts the share of Australians living in non-related group households will rise to almost 5% of all households by 2046.
01:50But collective housing models make up less than 1% right now and still face significant barriers.
01:58The legislation in many of the states don't cater for the collectivising of groups of people getting together for housing.
02:07And the other is the financial models to be able to support groups of people to do resident-led developments is lacking.
02:15I really think what we need is a variety of options for people and I think that this sort of great Australian dream of having a house with two and a half kids on a quarter acre block,
02:25it just can't work for everyone. We don't have enough space, there's not enough resources, there's not enough housing.
02:30Baby steps in a next generation experiment.
02:34Baby steps in a new place.
02:36Baby steps in a new place.
02:37Baby steps in a new place.
02:38Baby steps in a new place.
02:39Baby steps in a new place.
02:40Baby steps in a new place.
02:41Baby steps in a new place.
02:42Baby steps in a new place.
02:43Baby steps in a new place.
02:44Baby steps in a new place.
02:45Baby steps in a new place.
02:46Baby steps in a new place.
02:47Baby steps in a new place.
02:48Baby steps in a new place.
02:49Baby steps in a new place.
02:50Baby steps in a new place.
02:51Baby steps in a new place.
02:52Baby steps in a new place.
02:53Baby steps in a new place.
02:54Baby steps in a new place.
02:55Baby steps in a new place.
02:56Baby steps in a new place.
02:57Baby steps in a new place.
02:58Baby steps in a new place.
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