Real estate experts discuss housing shortages at national conference

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Real estate industry experts joined the Nov. 12, 2023, National Association of Realtors NXT: The Realtor Experience conference in Anaheim, Calif., to discuss multigenerational housing as a remedy for housing supply shortages, according to a Nov. 16 announcement from the NAR. 

Intergenerational or multigenerational housing is a concept where multiple generations live together, a model that many cultural communities have embraced, said the statement. Houses in the Columbia Basin, such as those being built by Palos Verdes in Othello, are beginning to offer attached primary bedrooms with their own features to accommodate housing situations such as multigenerational living, according to Imagine Realty Broker Jessie Dominguez

According to the announcement, the panel discussion was led by Nia Duggins, NAR's senior policy representative for business issues. It included guests Donna Butts, executive director of generations united, Rodney Harrell, the vice president of family, home, and community for AARP, and Hope Atuel, executive director of the Asian Real Estate Association of America.

“We've been saying intergenerational living, multigenerational living is here to stay," said Butts. "And it's here to stay because it's being consumer-driven. Whether it's your own family or someone in the neighborhood, it's the way of the future. And sometimes I get asked, would you want people to go backward in time because, as you know, we were settled by multigenerational families? And it's not a matter of going back. It's a matter of going forward to something that makes sense, and it's good for us."

Duggins then pivoted the conversation to the lack of housing stock available across generations, the statement said. She continued to point out that the U.S. is in a very constrained market because of record-low inventory and high interest rates. Duggins asked the panelists what the reimagined housing stock looks like with the kind of housing people need.

"We can look to additional dwelling units to address not just multigenerational families housing stock, but also looking at how ADUs can solve, or help at least, address the inventory crisis plaguing the country,” Atuel said.

Harrell added to the subject.

"One thing that's been driving research for over a decade is the idea that we have unmet preferences, and our preferences change over time,” Harrell said. “So, what we need to do with the housing stock is figure out what housing stock meets our needs. A Harvard Joint Center study shows that less than 1% of the housing in the country has the kind of features we're talking about here."

According to the statement, Butts then said that homeownership rates could be positively impacted by the trend of buying a home with your family.

"One strong benefit of multigenerational housing is the fact that you can pull resources oftentimes and buy that bigger house that you need, and you might qualify for financing that you wouldn't have been able to qualify for alone,” Butts said.

The announcement stated the conversation turned to what policymakers can do to help with housing stock.

"One of the big challenges has been that there's limited opportunities to buy and get loans, and we're getting into a little bit of financial limitations as well," said Harrell. “We should make sure that the folks who need homes can buy them in the locations that work best for them and their families. That to me is just a key, expanding options in different neighborhoods across town, not just one neighborhood on one side of town."

    A house on the north edge of Othello built by Palos Verdes Custom Homes with an attached master bedroom that could accommodate multigenerational living situations.
  

    The attached master bedroom in a house in Othello that would make it easier to implement multigenerational housing since it has all the features of a traditional master bedroom.