Ask Eli: Multigenerational Housing in Arlington

This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Rosslyn resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!

Question: We’re a family of four, with two school age children, and considering having my parents move in with us soon. What sort of multigenerational options do you see in Arlington and how frequently do they come on the market?

Answer: The demand for multi-generational living has increased substantially nationwide over the last few years and most experts and builders expect that trend to continue. Multi-gen living is generally defined as parents living with their adult children, and their children (grandchildren). The most common multigenerational housing requests I get are for families seeking a full bedroom and bathroom on the main level and occasionally for a full second master bedroom with private bath, on any level.

Main-Level Bedrooms/Suites

Main-level bedrooms and/or master suites are increasing in popularity with homeowners and local builders because the rooms can be used for permanent multi-gen living or guests with physical limitations, but also convert easily to offices, playrooms, and libraries. The data below is current as of Friday, March 10, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia for detached homes sold with a full main-level bedroom and bathroom, not including one-level homes (e.g. ramblers and ranchers) or foreclosures/short-sales.

• The average days on market is consistent with what you see for all detached homes in Arlington, but averaging about 1 percent more of a discount from the original asking price, suggesting sellers are either overvaluing a main-level BR/BA or there isn’t enough buyer demand
• The average sale price reflects pricing in the most expensive Arlington zip codes for detached homes because about half of the 1,235 sold are from 22207 and 22205
• In 2016, homes with a main-level full BR/BA made up nearly 14 percent of all detached home sales and 11.5 percent of new construction sales.

Second Master Suite

Here’s a look at the much less popular, much harder to find, second master suite in detached Arlington homes. Data is current as of Monday, March 13, 2017 and does not include foreclosures or short sales.

• The demand for a second master bedroom is clearly low with average days on market and the percent discount from asking price well above the market average for detached home
• Homes with a second master suite are much larger than homes with main level BR/BA, averaging about 1 more full bedroom and bathroom
• Over half of the homes sold with a second master suite were in 22207 or 22205

Aging In Place Follow-up

In January I wrote about aging in place in Arlington and got some great responses from readers about the concept of Universal Design guidelines for updating/building a home to accommodate aging in place and programs like the Arlington Neighborhood Village. Thank you to the readers who provided that feedback!

If you’d like a question answered in my weekly column, please send an email to [email protected]. To read any of my older posts, visit the blog section of my website at http://www.RealtyDCMetro.com.  

Eli Tucker is a licensed Realtor in Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland with Real Living At Home, 2420 Wilson Blvd #101 Arlington, VA 22201, (202) 518-8781.