CHM Blog

Home economics gets a family makeover

Sometimes it’s interesting to note how America lives. What makes them tick when it comes to home. Recently, Realtor’s Snejana Ferberov offers a snapshot of how — of all demographic groups — Gen X (people born between 1965 and 1980) —accounted for the largest share of homes bought with the intention of housing several generations of the same family.

Gleaned from a study dubbed the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report by the National Association of Realtors, she reveals that multigenerational dwellings made up 17% of home purchases last year, representing an all-time high and defining multigenerational homes as those that comprise more than one generation, such as adult siblings, adult children, or grandparents.

"The rise in multigenerational home buying underscores a broader trend driven by economic necessity and evolving family dynamics, as it offers a practical and supportive living arrangement that resonates with many families, particularly in times of economic uncertainty and changing social dynamics," writes Amethyst Marroquin, research assistant for NAR.

A recent NAR report tells us that while 21% of Gen X buyers led in the purchase of multigenerational homes, they were followed by younger baby boomers between ages of 60 and 69, at 15%; and older millennials between the ages of 35 and 44, at 12%. And all of this shift happened over the past decade, pushing Gen X, also known as the "sandwich generation," to the top of the multigenerational housing market. Although the article never mentioned it, it’s not unreasonable to believe the pandemic had something to do with it.

This is in comparison to 2013, when Gen X made up just 12% of multigenerational homebuyers. "The cost of homeownership has climbed significantly over the last few years and, as a result, buyers have gotten creative," says Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones. "One way to offset high housing costs is by combining forces and buying with family."

In the meantime, younger baby boomers have seen their share of the multigenerational market noticeably shrink, from 22% in 2013 to 15% in 2025. And last year, more than a 30% of homebuyers cited "cost savings" as the main reason for buying a multigenerational home, up from 15% in 2015, according to the NAR report.

With rising mortgage rates, many Americans have found it difficult to afford a home on their own. And not surprisingly, NAR researchers found that a growing number of adult children were living with their parents.

According to the report, 21% of respondents cited their children over the age of 18 moving back with them as a reason for their buying a multigenerational home, up from just 11% a decade earlier.

Meanwhile, a fifth of respondents shared that their grown children had never left home in the first place, up from just 7% in 2015, underscoring the rising popularity of multigenerational living arrangements, driven by both economic factors and family dynamics, including high living costs, student loan debt, and difficulties in finding well-paying jobs, according to Farberov.

She reports that as a result of these trends, Gen X and boomer households are more likely than other demographic groups to include adult children who have returned home because of economic hardships. Although younger buyers are still in the early stage of their career, having some help from their parents can be beneficial to boost savings and housing prospects down the line.

Older millennials? According to data parsed by NAR experts, they are now moving in with their aging parents. “Thirty-five percent of people in their late mid-30s to mid-40s cited their aging parents' health and caretaking responsibilities as a reason for their decision to purchase a multigenerational home,” says Farberov. “Additionally, nearly a third of older millennials reported that they bought their homes to spend more time with their parents in their golden years.

As families continue to adapt to economic uncertainty and social shifts, multigenerational living is likely to become the rule and not the exception to it in the housing market.

Realtor, TBWS

How Rates Move:

Conventional and Government (FHA and VA) lenders set their rates based on the pricing of Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) which are traded in real time, all day in the bond market. This means rates or loan fees (mortgage pricing) moves throughout the day, being affected by a variety of economic or political events. When MBS pricing goes up, mortgage rates or pricing generally goes down. When they fall, mortgage pricing goes up. Tracking these securities real-time is critical. For more information about the rate market, contact me directly. I'm among few mortgage professionals who have access to live trading screens during market hours.

Rates Currently Trending: Neutral

Mortgage rates are getting a little support so far this morning. The MBS market worsened by -11 bps last week. This was not enough to increase mortgage rates or fees. The market experienced high volatility last week.

This Week's Rate Forecast: Neutral

Three Things: These are the three areas that have the greatest ability to impact rates this week. 1) Geopolitical, 2) Inflation and 3) Treasury Auction.

1) Geopolitical: This category will continue to dominate. This week we have China/US trade talks in London, unrest in CA, the Big Beautiful Bill, and continued tariff news.

2) Inflation: We will get both CPI and PPI this week with the focus on CPI.

3) Treasury Auction: Thursday's 30Y bond auction is the most important for our pricing.

06/10 3 year note.

06/11 10 year note.

06/12 30 year bond.

This Week's Potential Volatility: High

This morning markets saw some rocky trading that has left us a little better than we started. Volatility has started high and will likely be that way all week.

Bottom Line:

If you are looking for the risks and benefits of locking your interest rate in today or floating your loan rate, contact your mortgage professional to discuss it with them.

Richard Sardella has been actively managing and providing services in the mortgage industry for over 30 years. Richard serves on the board of directors as President of Colorado Home Mortgages Inc.

All information furnished has been forwarded to you and is provided by thetbwsgroup only for informational purposes. Forecasting shall be considered as events which may be expected but not guaranteed. Neither the forwarding party and/or company nor thetbwsgroup assume any responsibility to any person who relies on information or forecasting contained in this report and disclaims all liability in respect to decisions or actions, or lack thereof based on any or all of the contents of this report.

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