Home builders are paying attention to a growing demographic: the multigenerational buyer. This buyer is motivated by providing support and health care for their family, along with reducing costs by splitting mortgage payments and utilities among more occupants.
Many thought this trend was synced with the recession and would lose velocity as homes became more accessible. However, many builders continue to focus in this area, working with designers and product manufacturers to create innovative floor plans and solutions that will help these multigenerational homeowners live more comfortably, along with fitting their goals of taking care of each other at a lower cost.
Paul Tourbaf, president of the Residential Group at Hanley Wood, describes here some of the design features and products in the reNEWable Living Home that directly respond to this demographic.
The reNEWable Living Homes appeals to all buyer demographics in a unique and powerful way.
It’s all about the family. Data from the National Association of Realtors’ 2017 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report show that two of the top three reasons why buyers choose to live in a multigenerational home are motivated by their family. Among the 11% of buyers across all age segments that purchased a multigenerational home, 19% cite health/caretaking of aging parents as the primary reason for their purchase, 18% cite cost savings, and 14% cite children or relatives over 18 moving back home. As Tourbaf points out, the reNEWable Living home responds to the focus on family by offering individual spaces for sanctuary along with gathering spaces where all the members of the family can spend time together.
NAR’s survey results also show that younger boomers (between the ages of 52-61) are driving the purchase of multigenerational homes at about 20%. The primary reason for purchase in this cohort is adult children and relatives moving into the household, which the reNEWable Living Home also offers a solution for with its Fonzie flat upstairs. In an article from Curbed, Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, says that today’s younger adults are “age agnostic,” closer to their parents, and don’t feel like it’s a burden to live at home.
Growing immigration and the diversity of the ethnic population in the U.S. also is driving the popularity of the multigenerational trend. Pew reports that in 2014, 28% of Asian and 25% of Hispanic households were multigenerational, both up since 2009—and a much larger rate than white households, which is just 15%.
In further support, a 2016 survey by John Burns Real Estate Consulting reports that 44% of home buyers in a group of 20,000 respondents hoped to live with elderly parents, and another 42% planned to live with adult children. BSB Design, the architect for the reNEWable Living Home project, created a design that caters to any type of buyer. These multigenerational buyers, regardless of their makeup, can decide how they want to use the space because of the inherent flexibility and funcationality of the floor plan.
To visit the reNEWable Living Home in Orlando in January, register now at www.builderonline.com/renewable.
