Multigenerational Housing Rises in Nevada

Homebuilders in the Las Vegas region are reacting to the deep hit taken by the region throughout the recession. As more people lose their homes to foreclosure, more families are taking in extra family members. These new homes, priced in the $300,000-range, are an attempt to formally meet that need.

"Multigenerational houses - those with attached in-law suites or backyard casitas meant to accommodate grandparents, adult children or other extended family members - are being added to the valley's landscape with increasing frequency. Developers with Pulte Homes, for example, included casitas in a dozen layouts offered in Henderson, Summerlin and other parts of Las Vegas. Home builder Lennar recently completed a wave of multigenerational construction in the Madison Grove at Providence development near Centennial Hills and plans to build similar homes in six more communities in the coming months.

...'Homes-within-homes,' as developers call them, provide cohabitating family members with privacy and autonomy while still allowing them to pool resources, save money on child care or offer one another emotional support. They eliminate the need for an adult son or daughter to sleep on the living room couch and make the question of whether to convert the home office into an elderly parent's bedroom a moot point. Home builders hope the concept will encourage new home sales in a market flush with foreclosures," writes author Delen Goldberg.

Thanks to Nate Berg