The traditional family home is being built with a twist—and it’s selling like hotcakes in this New England community.

When Jay Noble and his wife, Lauren, wanted to trade in his home for a two-family house so his mother could move in and be closer to her 3-year-old grandson, Noble was shocked by the prices he was seeing.

“It was alarming what the two-families around here cost, and what you could get for your money,” he says of his home search in the Boston metro area, where he lived in Woburn, MA. “It was like $2 million and all old construction. We wanted turnkey, and we didn’t want to move into a 1900s house.”

He had a budget of $1.2 million, figuring that both he and his mother would sell their condos, but that budget wasn’t going very far in the Bay State.

He decided to look farther north and soon came across Nadeau Village in Hudson, NH. The median list price in Hudson is $582,450, versus $985,000 in Boston, with less than an hour commute between. Nearby Manchester-Nashua regularly tops the Realtor.com® hottest markets list.

The new 15 units of multigenerational housing was unlike anything Noble had seen before, even as a real estate agent.

“It’s one of a kind,” he tells Realtor.com. “There’s nothing like it anywhere, and I’m an agent, so I know. At least nothing like it in Massachusetts or New Hampshire. I just thought it was a really good concept.”

What impressed him is that each house is really two homes in one—and built specifically for multigenerational families. The developer is Etchstone Properties, a leader in the local active-adult development market. With 13 other completed communities, this is the developer’s first foray into multigenerational housing.

“It’s drawing people from all over,” says Etchstone’s director of business, David Petropulos. “While it might be quite a bit of money for one house, when you consider it is really two, it’s not out of whack.”

Each of the two designs—the $1.2 million Charlotte and the $1.4 million Taylor—comes with a larger main house and an attached smaller second home, with the two connected via a doorway.

“Why buy a multigenerational home? Those with elderly parents, adult children still at home, or just looking for added income are in need of a home like this,” says the development’s listings.

While the housing is not strictly for families, and some new owners are renting out the second unit, families have bought eight of the 11 sold so far. Petropulos says the homes are selling faster than had been projected.

Each home is completely independent, with not only separate entrances and garages, but private walls, utilities, natural gas systems, water wells, and septic tanks as well. The second unit’s windows even look outward to the yard rather than inward toward the larger home—so from the inside, it appears to be its own dwelling.

“She doesn’t even know we’re home because she can’t see our driveway,” Noble says of his mother, Laura, 64, who took the smaller unit. “I forget she’s there! But our young son is taking full advantage of her being so close and knows how to get to her house.”

Beyond having his son and mother being able to see each other daily, Noble appreciates having his mother closer as she ages.

“She’s looking for ski clubs to join,” he says, meaning his mother is still very active. “But I like being able to keep an eye on her. And I can shovel her snow and things like that.”

The pros of multigenerational housing

No doubt being able to have your parent or parents close by as they age is an emotional advantage, but it can also be a financial bonus.

“In today’s high-priced housing market, some buyers may be open to creative solutions to afford a home,” says Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones. “One popular strategy is teaming up with family to buy a home to live in together.”

While developers have been slow to embrace the concept of multigenerational housing, it is catching on. Boomers and Gen-X continue to age while Millennials and Gen-Z continue to struggle to afford a first home. So, generations are teaming up to cohabitate.

“A recent survey suggested that many buyers would be willing to move in with their parents or other relatives to save up for a home purchase,” says Jones. “A significant majority (83%) of respondents said they would even consider co-buying and living with a family member to afford a home purchase.”

While just 0.23% of homes listed for sale suggested “multigenerational housing” in 2024, the share has increased significantly in recent years. In 2020–22, less than 0.1% of listings mentioned “multigenerational.” This share increased in both 2023 and 2024.

The financial benefit is a big reason why Joe and Jennifer Reale teamed up with the pair’s adult son and new daughter-in-law to buy a $1.2 million multigenerational house in Nadeau Village last year.

The two couples lived in separate homes in North Myrtle Beach, SC, but the Reales wanted to be closer to family and friends in Massachusetts. Additionally, the older couple wanted better health care services than they could get where they were living.

“It would take me a year to get a dental appointment down there,” says Joe.

The pair’s son and daughter-in-law were just starting their careers and wouldn’t be able to afford the Northeast’s higher home prices. It made sense for the four to buy a multigenerational home together.

What about privacy?

Both couples were concerned about living so close. While they wanted to spend more time together, no one wanted to be looking into each other’s windows.

“My daughter-in-law was really concerned, like ‘I want some space from my in-laws,’” he says with a laugh.

“I’d never heard of multigenerational housing, but we saw this and were like, ‘That’s two homes? Are you kidding? Because it looks like one. It’s two homes that just happen to be connected.”

He also appreciated that, unlike their homes in North Myrtle Beach developments, the house came with a sprawling 2-plus acres, unusual for a new development. The former dairy farm where Nadeau Village was built was zoned for 2-plus acre lots.

“We don’t have to see our neighbors or each other if we don’t want to,” he says. “I tell people I live in multigenerational housing, and they are like, ‘Oh, a duplex.’ I say, ‘You can call it that if you want, but it doesn’t look or feel like a duplex. I’m not a duplex kind of guy.’”

The foursome moved in a year ago and couldn’t be happier.

“There are no downsides,” he says. “Except my wife is looking at me funny because it’s negative 2 degrees outside.”

He warns that sharing a home—even if it is two homes in one—means everybody has to be “on the same sheet of music” when it comes to the exterior.

The family discusses everything from paint colors and finishes to landscaping. Their first Christmas in the new home was the perfect opportunity for each person to bring their particular strengths to the living arrangement.

“My son is 27, so he got on the roof, strung the lights, and my wife did the bushes,” Joe says. The younger couple hosted the older one for Christmas breakfast, then they reversed for dinner.

“It was perfect,” he says. “No one had to go outside.”

The separate houses can also spotlight each couple’s unique decorating style.

“If you go to their side, it’s modern, because that’s what they like,” he says. “But my wife likes more traditional, farmhouse style. You wouldn’t know you’re in the same building.”

Discuss your future plans

While it all sounds ideal, Joe warns not to avoid honest discussions of the complexities of such a living arrangement, both in financial and emotional terms.

“This isn’t something you want to do lightly,” he says. “Everyone should be aware of what the expectations are. You have to lay them all out before committing.”

While the idea is for the younger generation to take care of the older one when the time comes for that, Joe says this kind of plan needs to be discussed and agreed to beforehand.

The Reales also consulted with an attorney and decided to put the house into a trust.

“This way, [my son and daughter-in-law] can have the flexibility to move if they want to. And when my wife and I pass, the home goes straight to them,” he says.

And such close living, even with family, does come with a caveat.

“Everyone needs to get along for the most part,” he adds. “Or you will have some problems.”