In fact, one-third of hopeful buyers have already moved in with parents or other family members, some because of recent return-to-office requirements and many due to high childcare costs.
Today’s buyers are experiencing the most unaffordable housing market ever recorded. So, it’s no wonder more of them have decided to turn relatives into co-buyers and/or roommates to share the cost of a home purchase.
Roughly half (51%) of those surveyed who plan to buy a home within the next 12 months are potentially looking to their parents for assistance in preparing to buy a home. Almost a third (29%) say they’ve already moved in with their parents to help save toward a home purchase, and another 22% say they would consider doing the same.
About a third (32%) are cohabitating with other relatives—including siblings, cousins, aunts, or uncles—to save money, while another 24% said they would consider doing so.
The challenging market conditions this year are changing buyer behavior in significant ways, driving many more people to explore alternative living situations they may not have considered in the past. Mortgage rates hovering at or near 7% have eroded buyers’ purchasing power at a time when the consistently low number of homes for sale has kept housing markets surprisingly competitive.
Danielle Hale - Chief Economist at Realtor.com
LIVING WITH RELATIVES TO SHARE CHILDCARE COSTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Many potential buyers are also planning to live close to family even after they’ve saved enough for a home purchase. Twenty-eight percent of survey respondents who plan to buy a home in the next 12 months are doing so to live closer to family.
Many of those buyers are motivated by the prospect of saving time and money by sharing the costs and responsibilities of childcare. Half (50%) are motivated by a desire to help care for other children in the family, while the next largest share (44%) need affordable help caring for their own children.
Other respondents cited a variety of reasons for living near family, including—
- Attraction or attachment to the area where their parents/family live
- Unaffordable cost of living in their current or former neighborhood
- Health issues
Many respondents already live near family; about four in ten say their parents, siblings, or extended family members have purchased a home nearby.
CO-BUYING AND LIVING WITH OR NEAR FAMILY FOR THE LONG TERM
With housing affordability at an all-time low, co-buying and/or co-living with family have become more popular options for prospective homebuyers. Eighty-three percent of respondents said they would consider buying a home to live in together with someone other than their spouse/partner—including a friend or an extended family member.
Respondents were most open to co-buying a home with—
- One of their kids (37%)
- A romantic partner they’re not married or engaged to (31%)
- A sibling, cousin, or other relative from the same generation (27%)
- Their parents or in-laws (23%)
