GENSTAR: The future of affordable family living
It’s no secret, the cost of living is up. And it’s not just the price of buying a house that’s increasing, but rent, grocery bills, electricity bills and everything in between.
With little to no reprieve since the beginning of the pandemic, it’s time we start to think about ways around rising costs rather than hoping to stick it out until it eases.
Generational Staged Residence, or GENSTAR as we call it, could become a solution for families who are looking to share the load of living all while achieving their dream home.
The concept takes heed from European and Asian cultures where families stay together under one roof through generations.
In Australia, it’s become increasingly common for ‘nuclear' families to live independently. And while this has worked for many years, the crisis of living affordability paired with access to and cost of aged care has forced many families to revert to traditional ways of living.
Under a GENSTAR living model, couples or young families could theoretically achieve their dream home in several construction phases.
The idea is that you could design a full four-bedroom, two-car dwelling with the design strategically structured so you can build in stages as affordability permits.
The original design considers future separate living areas that cater for older independent children to later migrate into, as well as areas to support older generations.
Under this model, grandparents, parents, and older children can help share bills, building costs and even childcare responsibilities.
And with multiple stages of expansion within the home, rather than cramming everyone in under one roof, families can keep a level of independence all while achieving the goal of becoming a homeowner.
It’s a model that might take some getting used to, but as times get tough, it just might be the thing that saves the Australian homeownership dream from fading away.