In-laws moving in may be the occasional punchline in Hollywood, but builders are reporting that more clients are actually planning for their parents to come live with them in the future, according to the Reading Eagle. Floor plans suited for multigenerational-living with features such as first-floor master bedrooms, in-law suites, and rooms for boomerang children or siblings are becoming increasingly popular. For financial and emotional reasons, homebuyers are looking to keep the family together. Some buyers want to move back in with parents to save money, while others want parents to move in so that they can take care of them and their parents can act as caretakers for their grandchildren.
With millions of baby boomers coming of retirement age over the next decade — at a rate of 10,000 per day, according to estimates — new-home builders are seeing the rise of a new trend: multi-generational housing.
Heather Ryan and Renee Pratt of Rotelle Studio, a custom home builder based in South Coventry Township, Chester County, have witnessed the scenario beginning to play out before their eyes.
Ryan, a home design consultant with a background in architecture, said she came upon the burgeoning trend five years ago as part of her ongoing industry research. It led her to design a smaller home, called the Transitions model, that would simultaneously target millennials as well as folks like her and her husband, who were at the stage where they were thinking about downsizing.
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