The dream used to be that you’d grow up, build a career, buy your own house, and ditch your roommates — especially the one that always eats your leftover Thai food.
But given the current housing market, many roommates are making their arrangements more permanent.
There are a lot of benefits…
… to buying with friends, from increased borrowing power to not having to shoulder a down payment alone — especially as millennials and Gen Zers put off getting married and having children.
- A recent survey found that ~15% of Americans had bought a home with someone other than a romantic partner.
- Of those, nearly 25% said they couldn’t have afforded it otherwise.
- Of Gen Z respondents, 70% said they’d consider it.
Many of these partnerships have been fruitful.
Vice recently spoke with several co-homeowners, including one pair that ultimately sold their home for more than they paid for it, then used the profits to buy their own houses.
The Atlantic talked to two couples — each married with children — about splitting a home and all its duties among four adults. The decision allowed them to buy a larger house in a better neighborhood.
But…
… such a huge purchase — and close quarters — can also ruin friendships without a clear plan about the process, how the house will be run, and what will happen if someone wants out, gets married, or decides to have children.
And the trend does not seem to reflect a true desire for communal living, but — much like the tiny home trend — a necessity amid soaring housing costs.
In the aforementioned survey, the top advantages respondents listed were all financial:
- Sharing costs (67%)
- Affording a nicer home (56%)
- Investment opportunities (54%)
If housing costs never come down, we may see a shift in how people live… or a lot of broken friendships. And perhaps an uptick in labelmaker sales because dammit, those are my eggs, Janet!