The House on My Street With 10 People Living In It — And Why It Makes Perfect Sense (Or Why It Has To)
- David Cutler
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
I've lived in Avon for 17 years. I know my street. I know my neighbors.
So when I noticed that the house a few doors down was suddenly a lot busier — eight cars in the driveway, more voices, more life spilling out onto the lawn — I got curious. I don't know exactly who's living there or how it all came together. But it's clearly a lot of people sharing one roof.
And my first thought wasn't that's unusual.
My first thought was — for some families right now, this is a choice. For others, it's the only option that makes sense. And honestly? Both reasons are completely valid.
This Isn't a Pandemic Leftover. This Is a Movement.
What I'm seeing on my street is playing out across the entire country — and the numbers back it up.
As of 2026, nearly 4 million American homes house three or more generations under one roof. That's up from 3.2 million just a decade ago. And the reason isn't hard to find: since 2017, home prices have jumped 81% and rents have climbed 54% — while average earnings have grown only 43%. The math simply doesn't work the way it used to for a lot of families.
Nearly half of all renters — 49.7% — are now considered "cost-burdened," meaning they're spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That's not a small slice of the population. That's your neighbors, your cousins, your coworkers.
And families are responding. In 2024, 36% of multigenerational homebuyers cited cost savings as their primary reason for buying together — up sharply from just 15% in 2015. This isn't a fringe trend anymore. It's becoming a mainstream housing strategy.
Who's Actually Driving This
The generation leading the charge might surprise you: Gen X — people between roughly 45 and 59 years old — now accounts for 21% of multigenerational home purchases. These are the so-called "sandwich generation" households, caring for aging parents on one end and adult children who can't afford to launch on the other.
But younger generations are right behind them. Nearly one third of Gen Zers and 18% of Millennials say they're open to co-buying — pooling resources with family or friends to purchase a home together. For a lot of younger buyers on the South Shore, where entry-level homes routinely list above $450,000, this isn't idealism. It's pragmatism.
What Families Are Actually Looking For
The home search looks completely different when you're buying for multiple generations. You're not just counting bedrooms — you're looking at flow, privacy, and long-term functionality.
In-law suites. First-floor primary bedrooms. Separate entrances. Two kitchens. Finished basements with a full bathroom. These features were once considered nice-to-haves. Today they're driving purchase decisions — and the market is noticing. In 2025, multigenerational listings received 13.5% more page views than standard homes. Buyers are actively seeking them out.
Towns like Stoughton, Brockton, Quincy, and Roslindale tend to have the housing stock that actually supports this — larger older homes, flexible layouts, multi-room configurations, and in many cases a cultural familiarity with this kind of living arrangement that's been there for generations. If this is something your family is exploring, knowing what to look for before you start searching saves a lot of time and frustration.
What It Means If You're Selling
Here's something worth knowing if you're thinking about listing: multigenerational buyers are often highly motivated and financially strong. When multiple income streams are contributing to a purchase, financing tends to be more stable. These aren't casual lookers.
If your home has a finished in-law suite, a separate entrance, flexible living space, or an ADU — that's worth highlighting deliberately in your marketing. A feature you might have thought of as a bonus could be exactly what the right buyer has been searching for. And with demand for these homes outpacing supply, the right positioning matters.
The Bigger Picture
That house on my street with the full driveway isn't an anomaly. It's a reflection of how American families are adapting — to economics, to aging, to a desire for connection that a lot of people rediscovered and decided they didn't want to give back.
Real estate has always followed life. And right now, life looks like more people choosing — or needing — to be under the same roof. Whether that's driven by love, logistics, or the simple reality of what homes cost on the South Shore today, it's a decision more families are making than most people realize.
If your family is thinking through what that could look like — whether you're buying, selling, or just trying to figure out if your current home can actually work for everyone — that's exactly the kind of conversation I'm good at.
No pressure. Just a real talk about what's possible.
📩 david.cutler@raveis.com 📞 781-820-0672 🌐 cutler-realty.com
David Cutler | David Cutler Real Estate | William Raveis | Serving MA & Rhode Island
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