Rise of Multi-Generational Living - Original Post July 17, 2018

 

Even though the recession officially ended nine years ago, a housing trend seen during the downturn has endured: the number of multigenerational homes continues to grow.

According to the Pew Research Center, in 2016 a record 64 million people, or 20 percent of the U.S. population, lived with multiple generations under one roof. And the number is expected to increase as baby boomers age, with one in five American being 65 or older by 2030. 

Pew defines a multigenerational household as having two or more adult generations, including grandparents or grandchildren younger than 25. 

The most common type of multigenerational household consists of two adult generations, such as parents and their adult children. Households with three or more generations (grandparent, an adult child and grandchild of any age) housed 28.4 million people in 2016, according to Pew. 

Bringing the generations under one roof can be easier in a house designed to meet the needs of each family member for privacy and togetherness. That’s the attitude Mary Beckerman, a realtor at Keller Williams in Commerce Township, has after she sold two homes, and counting, to multigenerational families within a seventh-month time span. 

“It’s not a new idea,” Beckerman says. “It was how cultures lived in the past…and now we’re seeing an increase in demand back to that. As a realtor, I’m getting people coming to me and asking for two master suites to have mom or dad live there.” 

According to Generations United, a nonprofit that promotes intergenerational living, five major factors appear to contribute to the increase in multigenerational households, including slower starts, immigration, availability of kin, health and disability issues, and economic conditions. 

Multigenerational living may seem odd or retro, but experts say that speaks to how traditional ideas of family have shifted. Current figures indicate a steady rise from a 1980 low point, when 12 percent of the Country was in multigenerational households, as merely a return to the 1950 rate of 21 percent, before a more “modern” lifestyle took hold. 

It’s not hard to see the advantages of such an arrangement. Caregiving becomes easier, children form bonds with older family members, and everyone saves money. 

According to Kevin Stackpoole of King Financial in Rochester Hills, the financial benefits of multigenerational living is all about the power of two and one: two incomes, one mortgage; two incomes, one set of utility bills; two incomes and one set of household expenses. The end result, he says, is considerable savings. 

“It’s fun to play with the numbers and even better when you start to think about what could be done with the extra savings,” he said. “Let’s say a grandparent offers to watch a newborn for just two days a week, which lowers the child’s daycare bill from five days and saves $100 per week. If you take that $100 per week and multiply it by five years…he or she could have roughly $6,000 in their educational savings account. Bottom line is multigenerational living can offer financial stability and flexibility.” 

A multigenerational living arrangement may also have health benefits. Research shows that living with other generations has physical and health benefits. A 2014 study by Colombia University found that people living in two-generation households had lower premature mortality than those on their own. 

ELAINE WILDY, CENTER, POSES FOR A PHOTO WITH HER SONS, CHRISTOPHER AND JACKSON, HUSBAND, RALPH, AND MOTHER, SHARON ROWE, INSIDE THEIR MULTIGENERATIONAL HOME.

Elaine Wildy, a wife and mother to two boys, who moved into a multigenerational home with her mother coming to live with them, says the benefits of their new living situation are vast. 

“It works out fabulous. Even right now, we had a leak in the bathroom and she’s home with the plumber,” Wildy said. “Things I can’t handle, she can handle, and things she can’t do anymore I can help her with.” 

Wildy, an only child, had lived across the street from her working mother for years before busting at the seams of their two-bedroom house after having their second child. The family relocated to their Milford home in November 2017. The 5,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bathroom house includes a first-floor bedroom and full bathroom for Wildy’s mother. The basement, which is finished, has a full kitchen and bath. 

“She has a full basement, which is her living room. Her bedroom is upstairs with a full bath and the whole nine yards,” Wildy said. “We just needed space where we could have our own space.” 

Beckerman says that while the “mother-in-law suite” is common, larger, more integrated homes are being seen today. 

Homebuilders, developers and designers have rushed to respond to the demand of multigenerational houses, and many home builders now offer specific products designed for today’s increasingly flexible family scenario. Many homes built over the last 50-plus years were not designed to accommodate more than one generation. With the continued rise of multigenerational living, custom home builders have designed specific floor plans to suit the trend. 

Multigenerational homes typically feature several master suites, private bathrooms and flexible additional spaces. Each generation is brought together in a central living area that the entire family can enjoy comfortably. 

Your best way to find a variety of options suitable for multigenerational housing is to find an experienced real estate agent to assist. A real estate agent can set up private searches for you to receive listings as soon as they come on the market.