Full House: Modern Multigenerational Living08.08.2021
Over the course of the last year, many Americans have had to adjust how they live, work and play. The health crisis caused many younger adults to move back home and elderly adults to live in the care of their children for either economic reasons, health reasons, or both. As such, the real estate market has seen an increase of consumers looking for homes that accommodate themselves alongside their parents, grandparents, children, and/or extended family members. These types of properties are justly referred to as multi-generational homes, or properties consisting of many generations living under the same roof. Here, we take a deep dive into this growing consumer trend of multi-generational homes and what they have to offer.
Background A multi-generational home is defined as two or more adult generations living under the same roof, and for most of American history this lifestyle has been the norm. The basis of the early American economy was largely agrarian. The agricultural lifestyle made sense for families to live and work together on large farm properties, which were often passed down and family-owned for decades, some even a century or more. It was not until after WWII that multi-generational living took a downturn as a result of various products and services that made autonomous living more possible, such as the rise of automobiles, Medicare, and increased public transportation options. These additions to the American lifestyle along with other cultural trends encouraged young adults to leave the family home earlier, and senior adults to retreat to senior living facilities-giving rise to the individualistic home-unit Americans are familiar with today.
Living with Mom, Dad, and the Grandparents regained its momentum in the 1980’s, where Pew Research shows nearly
1 in 5 Americans lived in a multi-generational household. Fast forwarding to 2016, Pew Research then reported that
a record 64 million people lived in multigeneration homes at the time. When it pertains to certain racial and ethnic groups, the Asian and Hispanic populations were more likely to live in a multigenerational home. Also notable, foreign-born Americans are more likely to live together in one home than those born in the United States.
Quick Stats According to the Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report,
12% of all home buyers purchased a multi-generational home over the past year. This was particularly strong in adults aged 41 to 55, also known as Generation X. Overall, the primary reason for buyers to purchase bigger homes that would uphold the needs of their families is to take care of an aging parent. As we get older, we switch from the role of child take on the role of caretaker for our elders who can no longer safely care for themselves. Especially with the severity of the global pandemic throughout 2020 going into 2021, this was especially important given that older adults were the most at risk.
Multi-Gen Georgia So where does the state of Georgia rank when it comes to multi-gen homes and how many are there? It has been reported that the state has the sixth largest share of multigenerational homes in the United States. Altogether, the peach state can account for more than 160,000 households that include two or more generations living together under one roof (that’s 4.29% of homes). Hawaii leads the list of multi-gen households in share; however, California leads the country in total number multigenerational households. Looking forward, it is possible that the multigenerational lifestyle will continue spread across the United States.
Come visit The Oaks at Mill Pond located in East Cobb near the coveted Lassiter High School. Our homes are designed with modern living in mind to accommodate the needs of today's lifestyle.
