Multigenerational housing is on the rise, and South Florida builders have been responding accordingly.
Two surprising market trends emerged this month: market optimism is down for the first time since September, and multigenerational living is on the rise.
Many families have begun to turn two homes into one by bringing elderly family members into the homes of adult children, or adult children and their families are moving in with grandparents.
The tough economy facing Americans and the particularly tough housing market has made this trend a necessity for many families. Between uncertain jobs, loss on investments and many home foreclosures families have few other options.
According to an article by The Sun Sentinel, the number of these households nationwide increased by 30 percent from 2000 to 2010, far more than the 11 percent growth in total households, according to figures from theU.S. Census Bureau. The census considers a household multigenerational if three generations live together.
“This is something that’s becoming a necessity,” Miami analyst Lewis Goodkin said of the new housing option. “We’ve had more economic pressure than we’ve had in a long time. And it’s not a temporary thing. I think this is going to be with us for a while.”
Researchers say that the trend may wane once the market improves and home owners have the potential to be more independent. But optimism that the market is recovering or will recover soon has dwindled in the past month. The Wall Street Journal says that perhaps the previous optimism in the housing market was due to the fact that those being surveyed were still in business when many others in the field had folded or had to merge to stay afloat. Perhaps Builders were optimistic simply because they were still employed but that feeling has worn down as the actual aggregate sales have not actually improved.
“What we’re seeing is essentially a pause in what had been a fairly rapid build-up in builder confidence that started last September,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe in a news release. “This is partly because interest expressed by buyers in the past few months has yet to translate into expected sales activity,” because of tight credit, competition from foreclosed homes and “problems with obtaining accurate appraisals.”
Wether or not market confidence is in full swing or not, Florida builders are taking advantage of the demand for multi-generational homes designed with separate living quarters: bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchenettes and sometimes separate entrances.
Pulte Homes and GL Homes say they’ve had success selling the concept at developments in Palm Beach County. Lennar Corp. started building these homes in Phoenix and Las Vegas last year, and will do so in Miami-Dade County this summer. These homes are larger and more expensive to build than average homes and are providing a boost in sales that is greatly needed.