Instead of turning to the Bank of Mum and Dad for a loan, more young couples are checking into the Hotel of Mum and Dad, opting to move back home while they save for a deposit.

A surge in the cost of living in Australia’s capital cities means that couples who can live with parents free of rent, bills and even grocery costs, can add an average of $22,117 per year to their deposit, exclusive Domain rental and Finder cost-of-living data show.

The figure can be closer to $33,000 in Australia’s most expensive city, Sydney, well ahead of Melbourne, where rent and living costs come in just shy of $24,129.

Rent: The elephant in the personal budget

Median rent in Sydney for a one-bedroom apartment sits at $26,520 a year, according to the latest Domain rental report, so if a couple can avoid that sum, it can be a huge head-start to saving.

Rental costs rose almost across the board in the March quarter, Domain data shows, with Sydney’s median unit rents reaching parity with house rents at $550 per week, while Melbourne house rents hit $430 per week and units lifted 2.5 per cent over the quarter to $410.

ME head of home loans Patrick Nolan said saving on rent was the biggest benefit of living at home.

“Even with the strictest savings plan, the cost of living, steep rent, higher education and rising property prices can continually push the goal posts further out.” he said.

“Living at home can be a smart way to reduced expenses and accelerating your savings.”

It’s not an opportunity available to every family, but an increasing number of young buyers are working with their parents in this way, even moving home as a couple – a 2017 study found 29 per cent of families offered their children some kind of financial assistance to help them onto the property ladder, and rent-free accommodation was the most common form.

Declining housing affordability in major cities has seen an increase in time spent living at home, according to a Grattan Institute study published last month.

“Although sources differ on the scale of the change, young people are leaving home later,” chief executive John Daley and fellow Brendan Coates wrote.

“Census data shows a small increase in the proportion of people in their 20s and 30s living with their parents, particularly in Melbourne and Sydney, and fewer young people living alone.

“But the HILDA survey suggests the shift may be larger: it estimates that the proportion of women aged 22-25 living with their parents increased from 27 per cent to 48 per cent between 2002 and 2015, and the proportion of 22-25 year old men living with their parents increased from 43 per cent to 60 per cent.”

An understandable increase of those home-dwellers are saving between $20,000 and $30,000 per year toward their first house.

Putting away 60 per cent of income can be done

Mark Langley and Eve Walton-Healy lived at home to supercharge their savings and buy their first home, a townhouse in Melbourne’s Ascot Vale with a $60,000 deposit and $400,000 mortgage.

Living at home was the key.

Mr Langley, who works in a green waste processing facility, and Eve, who recently launched her own clothing brand Ricepaper, earn $60,000 and $40,000 per year, respectively – less than the average Australian wage.

The couple’s parents contributed no more than allowing them to live rent-free while working full-time since graduating from university.

Mr Langley told Domain living at home and saving “aggressively” since graduating a year ago allowed him to save 60 per cent of his yearly earnings.

“Eve and I were both in a position that our parents were more than happy to have us at home,” he said.

“But not everyone has the luxury to work full-time and live with their parents.”

Mr Langley said if he hadn’t been able to live at home and save the two would definitely have to have waited much longer to buy a place.