Multigenerational Homes Are on the Rise

As loved ones start to get older, we start to wonder: how longwill they be able to live alone? Will they need someone there tohelp them with daily life? There’s a reason to ask thosequestions now more than ever, as the average age in the U.S.is 78 years old! As a result, 41% of Americans in the market are searching for ahome that can accommodate a multigenerational family.

The graph below shows the number of people by generation thatpurchased a multigenerational home because they will either betaking care of an aging parent or they just want to spend timetogether.

Of those buyers, 26% indicated they will be taking care of anaging parent, and 14% said they want to spend time with an agingparent. These numbers do not come as a surprise. Accordingto Pew Research Center, 64 millionAmericans (20% of the population) lived in amultigenerational household in 2016 (Last numbersavailable).

An increasing number of studies affirm the benefits of beingpart of a multigenerational household. These benefits aren’tjust for the grandchildren, but for the grandparents as well.According to these two resources:

The University of Oxford

“Children who are close to their grandparents havefewer emotional and behavioral problems and are better able to copewith traumatic life events, like a divorce or bullying atschool”.

Boston College

“Researchers found that emotionally close ties betweengrandparents and adult grandchildren reduced depressive symptoms inboth groups”.

This research gives helpful insight into why 41% of Americansare in the market to buy a multigenerational home.

Bottom Line

If you have a home that could accommodate a multigenerationalfamily and are thinking about selling, now is the perfect time toput it on the market! The number of buyers looking for this type ofhome will only continue to increase.