IKEA-owned brand BoKlok has signed up with a UK council to create sustainable homes using the moniker “Left to Live”. As many people stretch their finances to extremes to buy a house – or are forced to remain renting – IKEA's initiative aims to offer genuinely affordable homes.

Owning a home is still part of the American dream for Gen Y, but many are being priced out of cities, leading them to seek a place in the exurbs instead. As they trade hectic urban life for a quieter existence between suburbia and rural regions, what can we learn about this generation of home buyers?

A lack of affordable housing means that home-ownership is a pipe dream for many young adults. In the UK, Pocket is helping first-time buyers get a foothold in this hostile market, catering to the teachers, health workers and creatives that make a city. But do people really want to live in tiny homes?

Shared housing may normally be associated with college students and young urbanites, but a growing number of American Boomers are following suit by shacking up with friends and strangers. What factors are driving older people to live with others, and is this trend here to stay?