Market Data + Trends

As Housing Affordability Worsens, Multigenerational Buying Is on the Rise

First-time and repeat buyers are increasingly turning to multigenerational living to spend more time with loved ones and to save on housing costs
Feb. 7, 2023

Over the past several years, the share of multigenerational homebuyers reached new highs as Americans sought ways to spend more time with their families while saving money on home purchases. After dropping to 11% in 2021, multigenerational buying is back near an all-time high at 14%, led by Gen Xers who are caring for aging adults and younger generations moving back into their childhood homes.

For both first-time and repeat buyers, roughly 30% say that caretaking or spending time with aging relatives is important, but among all reasons for buying a multigenerational home, first-timers reported cost savings as the greatest motivating factor, the National Association of Realtors reports.

For first-time buyers, who struggled to enter last year’s housing market, perhaps it is unsurprising that they are more likely to purchase a multi-generational home due to cost savings and for a larger home that multiple incomes could buy together. First-time buyers, who have a median age of 36, also are more likely to say their adult children have not yet left the nest. On the other hand, repeat buyers, who have a median age of 59, are more likely to say their adult children are now boomeranging back.

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