The backyard solution for the 'boomerang kids' generation

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

A new DIY flatpack “pod” launching in New Zealand is tapping into a trend in Hamilton which is seeing an increase in multi-generational households as kids stay home for longer.

Elsewhere Pods launched its prefabricated home studio product in partnership with Bunnings this week, after finding success in the Australian market.

New Zealand general manager of operations Karel Bietje told the Waikato Times the company was born after founder Matt Decarn struggled to get a granny flat designed to go into his garden for his mother.

“There's so many systems and solutions out there in the market, but it's nothing simplified and nothing easy to put together and that looks architecturally pleasing,” he said.

Inquiries for the pods jumped from 15 to 500 a day after the company’s Australian launch with Bunnings - success they’re hoping to recreate across the ditch.

The pods’ arrival in New Zealand comes after the Government loosened rules to allow standalone dwellings up to 70m² to be built without a building consent if the structure meets all exemption conditions.

While Elsewhere Pods eventually coming across the Tasman was “always an idea that was on the cards”, Bietje said changes to regulations meant they’d brought the launch forward.

However, he added that people installing larger pods or wanting to add a kitchen or bathroom to the units would need to check with their local council about building regulations.

Interest so far has been “widespread…it just shows us that there’s an absolute desperate need for a simplified solution”.

The two pod options available through Bunnings - measuring 2.7m x 2.4m and 4m x 2.4m respectively - are designed for people wanting more space and take about a weekend to construct, he said.

“It's adult kids moving into the backyard or parents and grandparents moving back with the adult kids.”

Lodge Real Estate managing director Jeremy O’Rourke said while demand for multigenerational living was mainly driven by migrant communities where extended living was already common, cost of living pressures meant more young people were living with their parents.

“When I was growing up, you were gone at 18 and you'd only ever return for a couple of weeks in between flats. That's not the case today - we're seeing kids living at home until a lot later age.

“The dynamics between generations has changed as well,” he said, adding parents were more familiar with their children than before, making living together for longer easier.

The Government’s decision to overhaul rules on granny flats came when demand was already evident, O’Rourke said.

“We are seeing that driven by kids who are staying at home longer or who return home and they're living in a granny flat and saving for their own property.”

As Hamilton continued to grow, O’Rourke believed higher density housing would become more common and residents more accepting towards townhouses and apartments.

“Fundamentally, Hamilton is going to have to grow up,” he said.

He said as demand for housing in the city increased and land prices surged, intensification was needed to make buying property in the CBD affordable.

“We're already seeing that occur and I think population density draws services towards that density as well, so it makes it a much nicer community to live in.

“We say that demand has pulled back or supply has outstripped demand, but there's still strong interest in higher density living, and people recognise the benefits of it, particularly in a city where it's quite porous.”

Part of the beauty of living in a changing city was that there was something to cater to everyone, he said, from spawling lifestyle blocks, terraced townhouse, or lock and leave apartments.

Bietje’s view was that housing would become more centred around community living and smaller pop-up houses would increase in popularity.

“It gives you the flexibility to add another space when you need to expand or you can remove space if you don't need it anymore and that's clearly where we see this is heading.”

The cost ranges between $31,082 for a 2.4m x 2.7m option to $51,106 for the 4m pod.