With increased cost of living as well as life expectancy, many families are opting to “Age in Place” and require to change the existing homes to be more handicapped accessible. While searching online for information about the financial impact that in-law apartments have on the market, I came across this helpful information in the Wall Street Journal at www.wsj.com. “In an analysis of real-estate listings, homes with in-law units, technically called accessory-dwelling units (ADUs), were priced about 60% higher than houses without them, according to real-estate website Zillow, which examined the past four years of new listings in major cities.”
I was surprised to hear the high percentage of homeowners that are planning on moving an aging relative into their home in the future. We see that from remodeling existing homes to new construction, while micro-dwellings are trending on television, in actuality many are considering best use of space, to plan for a future.
“In a 2012 survey of 550 homeowners with one or more living parents by PulteGroup, one of the nation’s largest home builders, 32% of respondents said they expected to have an aging relative live with them in the future. In its Southwest markets, Pulte last year rolled out “casitas,” stand-alone in-law units; in the Southeast the company has introduced MultiGen dwellings that are built into the main home. Miami-based Lennar, another large builder, introduced NextGen dwellings in late 2011 that are part of the main home but have a separate entrance. Sales of homes with NextGen spaces grew by 27% year-over-year, said Jeff Roos, Lennar’s Western region president.”
If you are looking to learn how a “NextGen Space” or in-law dwelling can be added to your existing home, or are looking to design and build a home that you can plan to use for the foreseeable future, contact Hinman Construction today.