More families in the U.S. are adopting more traditional living arrangements. Shifting demographics, evolving lifestyles for older Americans, economic circumstances, and increasing ethnic diversity are all important contributing factors.
Executive director of nonprofit Generations United Donna Butts claims there are many advantages to this arrangement -- studies have shown children in single-parent households that also include grandparents exhibited improved school performance, and one showing that older adults who spend more time with grandchildren live longer, per Curbed.
Butts says that this way of thinking—what she calls the ‘John Wayne, go-it-alone mentality’—is withering in the United States. Multigenerational living, when more than one generation lives under one roof (not counting young children or teens), has hit record levels in the U.S. In 2014, according to Pew Research Center data, 60.6 million people, or 19 percent of the U.S. population, lived in multigenerational homes, including 26.9 million three-generation households.
Related Stories
Trends
Record Storms Are Turning House Lifting Into Big Business
House lifting has long been a strategy for waterfront real estate, but it is now becoming a far bigger business due to climate change
Exterior
Trends in Exterior Cladding
Today’s exterior claddings are a careful curation of natural and man-made materials that add warmth and authenticity ... with labor-saving ways to install them
Sales + Marketing Trends
This House Size Is Just Right
In what could be the Goldilocks principle for what is trending in high-end real estate, homes between 5,000 and 10,000 square feet sold faster last year than smaller and larger houses, according to Realtor.com.
