Builder Online recently reported that roughly one-third of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 are moving back in with their parents or their in-laws or are reverting back to a lifestyle with roommates due to ripple effects from the recession.
Based on a recent AARP report that Builder Online cited, 15 percent of people surveyed expressed a degree of likelihood that they’d move in with, or accommodate another, family member or friend. Out of those surveyed, the largest percent (about one-third) said that it would be due to a loss of income. About one-fifth said it was due to a change in job status, and most notably, about 8 percent of those surveyed said it was due to home foreclosure.
While these statistics underscore the recession’s direct impact of people’s home accommodation decisions, one-third said that they felt “somewhat comfortable” with that kind of a living arrangement while another third expressed that they would “not be comfortable at all” living with additional family members or friends.
Builder says that AARP expects the demand for universal design features like ground floor bedrooms and walk-in showers to increase in order to accommodate multi-generational, flexible living arrangements.
Read “Adding an In-Law Suite” to find out more about combining intergenerational households. Watch this video to see the addition of an in-law suite.
Credit: Builder Online
