The More, the Merrier?
Multifamily Executive
By Rachel Z. Azoff
...Demographic shifts driving the trend include a rise in immigrants, who are more likely than native-born Americans to live in multi-generational households; an increase in the age of first marriages; and a spike in the number of elderly who live with their children. What's more, the tremendous amount of job losses and foreclosures linked to the Great Recession has forced many people to move back home.
But will this decrease in independent households have a negative effect on the multifamily sector as fewer homes are in demand? Not necessarily. In fact, the surge just might lead to a new niche, says Dr. Richard Green, director of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate in Los Angeles. "We have loads of studios and one- and two-bedrooms, but we don't have that many three-bedrooms nationally," Green says. "Reconfiguring stock might be an opportunity going forward."...