As Thanksgiving approaches, homes across the country are being filled with the comforting sounds of laughter, clinking dishes, and stories shared around the table. But for many families, the togetherness that warms their homes doesn't end when the leftovers are packed away. Many Americans are choosing to live (and buy) under one roof, creating multigenerational homes—homes that have adult siblings, adult children over the age of 18, parents, and/or grandparents—that blend tradition with practicality.
According to the latest edition of NAR's Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 14% of home buyers purchased a multigenerational home, a slight decrease from 17% last year.
Just as no two Thanksgiving dinners are quite the same, families come together to buy a home for all sorts of reasons. Some are making space for aging parents, hoping to add a little more comfort and connection to everyday life. Others are welcoming young adults back home as they save for their own slice of housing pie. And for many, it's a heartfelt response to today's affordability challenges, driven by rising prices, tight markets, and the growing need to pool resources to make homeownership possible. In the sections ahead, we'll look more closely at who multigenerational home buyers are and how each is reshaping what homeownership looks like today.
Caregiver Families
The holidays remind us of the deeper reasons that bring generations under one roof: care, connection, and time together. Health and caretaking of aging parents have long been leading motivations for purchasing multigenerational homes, and as it's becoming increasingly difficult for elderly individuals to age in place, that trend is only growing stronger. Among the most recent buyers, 41% said the primary reason for buying a multigenerational home was to care for or support aging parents — the highest share since tracking began in 2015. Another 23% said their main motivation was simply to spend more time with their parents.
Boomerang Families
As families come together for Thanksgiving, many dining room conversations are turning to a familiar (and sometimes dreaded) topic: where everyone's living these days. Today's housing market has shown very little mercy for first-time buyers, with record-high ages and down payments. More young adults are returning home, not out of failure but practicality. For some families, those same affordability challenges mean adult children never leave home in the first place. Since the Great Recession, American families have seen a rise in "Boomerang Kids," a term for young adults who move back in with their parents after living independently.
In 2025, 27% of multigenerational home buyers shared that their primary reason for purchasing was adult children moving back into the home. Similarly, 21% of multigenerational home buyers shared that their adult children never left the home. While typically a popular reason to buy a multigenerational home, we have seen it grow in popularity over the past 10 years.
Economically Driven Families
Much like the way families gather and share responsibilities during Thanksgiving, multigenerational households often bring together multiple income earners under one roof. Multigenerational homes are more likely to include multiple income earners than traditional households. In fact, more than one in four multigenerational home buyers have three or more people contributing to the household income, compared to just 11% of traditional home buyers. Yet, even with more hands helping to keep the household running, that doesn't always translate into a much higher overall income. In 2024, the median household income for all home buyers was $109,000, while for multigenerational buyers, it was only slightly higher at $109,300. Still, beyond the numbers, these homes reflect something deeper—families choosing to come together, share responsibilities, and support one another, much like the spirit of Thanksgiving itself.
Childcare Support Families
This season of gratitude shines a light on the ways families come together to support one another. One-third of multigenerational home buyers (34%) have children under 18 living at home, reflecting how deeply family connections shape where and how people choose to live. With childcare costs placing increasing pressure on household budgets, many families are turning to multigenerational living to share both costs and caregiving duties. This year's report also featured two new primary reasons for purchasing a multigenerational home: 12% of buyers cited grandchildren living in the home, while 6%t said their decision was motivated by helping reduce childcare. In fact, among households with children under 18, nearly one in five (19%) includes grandchildren as part of their home. It's a reminder, especially during the holidays, that a full house can be one of life's greatest joys.
As the dishes are cleared and the last slice of pie disappears, Thanksgiving reminds us that home is more than walls and a roof… It's the people who fill it. multigenerational living, in all its forms, reflects that same spirit of gratitude and togetherness that defines the holiday season. Whether families are caring for aging parents, welcoming adult children back home, combining incomes to make homeownership attainable, or sharing the experience of raising young children, they are building something enduring: a home rooted in love, support, and connection. In a housing market that often feels uncertain, these households offer a hopeful reminder that when generations come together, everyone has a place at the table.
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