Are Generation Rent the ultimate house- hoppers?

We all know the housing market has been a lot less kind to Gen Z and Millennials than it was to our parents. But we’re not only being priced out of the housing market, some of us are shunning it by choice and opting to invest our money in other ways. This means we’re living in more homes, and having more flatmates than ever, before settling down in a ‘forever’ home (if a ‘forever’ home is even a thing any more - we really can’t plan anything these days can we?)

So, we decided to find out what’s changed for Gen Z/ Millennials compared to their parents’ generation.

We surveyed almost 5,000 UK renters, and 2,000 adults over the age of 50, which revealed some interesting stats on house-hopping within generations. We found that a quarter of Gen Z/ Millennials have already moved at least 10 times since leaving home. On average, they’ve already lived in twice as many homes as their parents will over their lives. This just shows how much the housing market has changed from generation to generation.

Our study also found that a third of Gen Z/ Millennials have already lived with 15 or more flatmates, excluding family members or partners. In contrast, almost half of their parents’ generation have never lived with anyone other than immediate family or their partner. It used to be far more common to move out of your family home and straight in with a partner, to a ‘forever’ home. today, this seems to be outdated, with people preferring to live with friends not just to cut the cost, but for the social aspect too.

Generation Rent are taking longer to settle down, buy a house or start a family. Not only that, houses are so much more expensive than they used to be. Therefore, people are renting for longer. When our parents’ generation bought their first place, the average house cost 3-4 times the average salary - today, it’s more like 10-12 times the average salary. Madness, right?

The upside is that Gen Z/ Millennials have had way more opportunities to meet people and experience new things as a result. Far more memories are made living with your besties for a few years than living with a partner straight away or by yourself! 77% of renters told us they’re still friends with some of the people they’ve lived with, and 25% said they’re still friends with all the people they’ve lived with. This just shows living with great people makes renting a LOT more fun…