Builders design homes for extended families

Seeking to stand out in a competitive market, builders of new homes are coming up with a new model for today's family: the multigenerational household.

Since 2007, the number of multigenerational households has grown by 10%. Builders are responding with new designs to accommodate two or more generations living under one roof.

Lennar is building its Next Gen home — which it calls a "home within a home" — in Arizona, Maryland, California and Nevada. The home is not quite a duplex but has a unit with a separate entrance that includes a bedroom, bath, living room and kitchenette.

"This is a niche area that appears to be solid and growing," Stephen Melman, director of economic services for the National Association of Home Builders, told Bloomberg Businessweek. "It’s a demographic thing."

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Lennar unveiled its Next Gen home this fall. KB Homes and Pulte Group also have models with independent suites, and Toll Brothers offers the option in some homes.

• More people are living with relatives

"When builders are still fighting for every sale, hitting on something that resonates with your local demographic can make a difference," Megan McGrath, an analyst with MKM Partners, told Bloomberg,

Kevin Barnes bought a new home in Orlando, Fla., with a second master suite for his mother-in-law, who is 71. The arrangement works for all generations, he said. Barnes' mother-in-law can babysit her 3-year-old grandson, and she can count on her son and daughter-in-law to take her shopping.

• All-in-the-family homes
  

 “We’re not putting her in a box,” Barnes said. “She likes her independence.”

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Builders also are creating spaces to accommodate other important family members: pets. Pulte has models decorated to show a room for the dog.

"We heard from our buyers: We have pets and we consider them a part of the family, and we’d rather have space that’s allocated to the pet, just like we would a bedroom for a child,” Scott Thomas, Pulte’s director of architecture, told Bloomberg.