Realestate.com.au reports that Australians — including high‑income professionals earning six‑figure salaries — are increasingly turning to van and caravan living as soaring rents, mortgage stress, and rising living costs make traditional housing feel unaffordable or not worth the pressure.
Money.com.au’s survey shows:
- Almost 1 in 10 Australians lived in a caravan in the past year.
- 1 in 5 Gen Z and Millennials are open to van life.
- Households earning $100,000–$149,000 are the most likely to consider it.
- 13% say they chose it out of necessity.
The trend is no longer limited to retirees or low‑income earners.
According to Money.com.au’s Nick Burgess, caravans are becoming a mainstream housing option rather than a fringe lifestyle because they offer freedom, flexibility, and mobility.
For some, it’s a short‑term fix after separation, redundancy, or retirement. For others, it’s a permanent lifestyle choice.
“Caravans are becoming less of a ‘fringe’ lifestyle traditionally associated with grey nomads and more of a serious housing option for Australians who feel squeezed by rising property prices and living costs. It beats sleeping in your car”, Burgess said.
While costs still exist, such as site fees, utilities, maintenance, registration, and insurance, they are often far cheaper than rent or a mortgage.
With no relief in sight for housing supply, cost‑of‑living pressures, and mortgage stress, Burgess suggests the van‑life trend will continue to grow, especially among younger Australians and middle‑income professionals.
Dotted throughout Australia and the United States are caravan parks and trailer parks providing long-term leases to the poorest and most marginalised in society. These poor souls are derogatorily called “trailer trash” in the United States for this very reason. Yet now they are becoming mainstream in Australia.
You won’t find any actual homeownership or real estate at these parks because there is neither land nor title.
The definition of real estate is the land along with any permanent improvements attached to the land, whether natural or manufactured, including water, trees, minerals, buildings, homes, fences, and bridges.
Caravans, by definition, are not real estate because they do not include the land, the most expensive component.
The fact that Australians with above-average incomes are now being forced to live in caravans is a sad indictment of the nation. It contradicts the “Lucky Country” moniker that was once taken for granted.
