More People Living Under One Roof

The number of people sharing a home is rising, and that could cause the United States to end this decade with as many as 4 million more housing units than it needs.

In 2008, 49 million, or 16 percent of the population, live in a home with more than one adult generation, up from 28 million, or 12 percent, in 1980.

Three factors are driving this change, says Arthur C. Nelson, director of the Metropolitan Research Center at the University of Utah:

• More older adults moving in with their children or grandchildren.
• High unemployment keeping young adults from establishing their own households.
• Increasing numbers of immigrants who come from cultures where extended families living together is expected.

Will the change be permanent? Eric Belsky, executive director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard, says it's anybody's guess. “There are so many conflicting piece of information,” he says.

Source: USA Today, Haya El Nasser (05/06/10)