Cradling Housing Affordability for Young Adults

Housing affordability has remained a persistent cross-generational issue. Utilizing data from young adults who purchased houses in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area, this article investigates whether they are genuinely able to afford housing. Affordability is assessed through the housing cost-to-income ratio to evaluate financial capacity and funding sources. Preliminary findings reveal that 57% of young adults meet the recommended affordability threshold, spending no more than 30% of their income on housing costs. However, further analysis discovers that only 27% financed their houses fully from personal income, while the remaining 30% relied on their parents to cradle their housing affordability, leading to a phenomenon of pseudo-affordability. This article argues that the concept of affordability is misleading, as housing is frequently, if not entirely, unaffordable for many young adults. The findings challenge the prevailing discourse on housing affordability and suggest a shift in focus from the nuclear family to the extended family. The reliance on parental support raises the question of whether young adults are genuinely unable to afford housing or whether this reflects parental expectations for their children to succeed. Future research should explore the socio-economic factors affecting the financial psychology of young adults in relation to housing affordability.