Multigenerational Living: Why More West Michigan Families Are Buying Homes with In-Law Suites

How the right floor plan can solve one of the hardest problems families face: caring for aging parents without losing your own home, budget, or sanity.

It usually starts with a phone call. Mom fell in the driveway. Dad forgot to take his medication again. The stairs at their house have become a hazard instead of a convenience. Suddenly, a family that was managing just fine is facing a question nobody wants to answer on short notice: where will Mom and Dad live now, and who is going to help them?

If you have had that phone call, or you can feel it coming, you are not alone. Across West Michigan, more families are answering that question the same way: by buying a home built for more than one generation under one roof. Not a nursing home. Not an assisted living facility with a waiting list and a five-figure monthly bill. A real house, on a real street in Muskegon, Norton Shores, Grand Haven, North Muskegon, or Fruitport, with a private space built in for Mom, Dad, or another loved one who needs a little more support.

This is the trend real estate professionals are calling multigenerational living, and it is reshaping what buyers ask for the moment they walk through my door. In this post, I want to walk you through why this shift is happening, what it actually looks like in our local market, what it costs, and how to shop for a home that solves this problem instead of creating new ones. My goal, as always, is to be the agent who helps you solve a real-life pain point, not just close a transaction.

A National Shift That Has Landed in West Michigan

Multigenerational living is not a new idea. It is closer to a return to normal. Pew Research has tracked this pattern for decades: around one in five Americans, roughly 64 million people, now live in a household with two or more adult generations, a share that has climbed steadily since bottoming out near 12 percent back in 1980. What changed in between was a few decades where single-family, single-generation homes became the default and family caregiving quietly moved out of the house and into paid facilities.

That default is shifting back, and the data backs it up. Recent housing research shows that as of 2024, roughly four million owner-occupied U.S. homes had a grandparent, a parent, and a child living together under one roof, and listings marketed as multigenerational are drawing noticeably more attention than typical homes on the market. A 2026 National Association of REALTORS® study on buyer trends found that nearly one in five buyers between the ages of 46 and 60 purchased a multigenerational home in the past year, and even buyers in their late twenties and early thirties are getting in early, often to give a home the flexibility to absorb a parent later on.

A separate 2025 survey from Veterans United Home Loans found that more than a quarter of prospective buyers now plan to include multiple generations in their next home purchase, and caring for an aging parent was the single most common reason given. Cost sharing and adult children returning home rounded out the top motivations. In other words, this is not a niche lifestyle choice. It is a mainstream response to two very ordinary pressures: the rising cost of care, and the reality that people are living longer and often want to stay close to family instead of in an institution.

Why This Matters Even More Here in West Michigan

Muskegon County is home to roughly 178,000 residents, and about 34,400 of them, close to one in five, are age 65 or older. That share has been climbing for years and mirrors what is happening across the entire state of Michigan. Whitehall, Norton Shores, and the smaller lakeshore communities around us tend to skew even older, which makes sense. People retire here. They raise families here, their kids move to Grand Rapids or out of state for work, and then those same kids start looking for a way to bring Mom and Dad closer, or to move a parent in with them, without uprooting everyone's life.

At the same time, home values in Muskegon County remain some of the most attainable on the West Michigan lakeshore, with median values still well below Grand Haven or Ottawa County. That combination, an aging population and comparatively accessible home prices, is exactly why I am fielding more and more calls from buyers asking a version of the same question: “Can we find a house where my parents can have their own space, but still be close enough that we can check on them every day?”

The honest answer is yes, more often than most people expect, but it takes a different kind of house hunt than a typical single-family search. That is where I come in.

The Real Problems Families Are Trying to Solve

Before we talk solutions, let's name the pain points clearly, because these are the conversations I have with clients almost every week:

•       Safety concerns. A parent living alone in a two-story home with a bathroom down the hall and stairs to the basement laundry is one bad fall away from a crisis.

•       The cost of assisted living. Memory care and assisted living facilities in West Michigan commonly run several thousand dollars a month, a bill that can drain savings in a few short years.

•       Long-distance caregiving. Driving across town, or across the state, every time something comes up is exhausting and unsustainable for working adults with their own kids and jobs.

•       Loss of independence and dignity. Most aging parents do not want to feel like a burden, and they do not want to give up their own space, their own routine, or their own front door.

•       Guilt and family friction. Adult siblings often disagree about who should take on caregiving duties, and financial strain over facility costs can create real tension at exactly the moment a family needs to pull together.

A well-designed multigenerational home does not erase every one of these problems, but it addresses the two things that matter most: proximity and independence. Mom and Dad get their own kitchen, their own entrance, their own bathroom, and their own routine, while you get the peace of mind that comes from being down the hall or across the driveway instead of forty-five minutes away.

Three Paths to a Multigenerational Home

When buyers come to me with this need, we usually explore three different paths, and the right one depends on budget, timeline, and what is already on the market.

1. Buy a home that already has an in-law suite or true dual-living layout

This is the fastest and, for most families, the most cost-effective route. West Michigan has a good supply of ranch-style homes, split-levels, and even a growing number of newer builds designed with a second primary suite, a private entrance, or a finished walkout lower level with its own kitchenette and bathroom. These homes let you skip the permitting process and the months of construction entirely. The tradeoff is that true dual-living homes tend to sell quickly and can carry a price premium, since national data shows buyers are paying about 22 percent more per square foot for homes built to be lived in across generations. That premium reflects real demand, and it is also a sign that these homes tend to hold their value well when you eventually sell.

2. Buy a home with the right bones and convert an existing space

If a move-in-ready in-law suite is not available in your price range or preferred neighborhood, the next best option is a home with an underused space that can be converted: a finished basement with an existing bathroom rough-in, an attached garage, or a first-floor bedroom and bath combination that just needs a small kitchenette added. According to industry cost data, finishing a basement into a livable suite typically runs somewhere between $10,000 and $30,000 if the plumbing groundwork is already there, while converting a garage tends to run $20,000 to $60,000. Across all types of in-law suite projects nationally, homeowners spend an average of around $82,750, though the total can range from well under $10,000 for a simple room conversion up into the hundreds of thousands for a full custom addition, depending on size and finishes.

This is a spot where an experienced agent earns their keep. Before you buy, I walk the property with an eye toward exactly this kind of conversion: Is there a full bath or at least rough plumbing nearby? Is there a separate entrance, or could one be added without a major structural headache? Is the ceiling height in the basement tall enough to meet code for a legal living space? These are the questions that separate a smart purchase from an expensive surprise.

3. Buy land or an existing home and build a true addition or accessory dwelling unit

For families who want a fully separate, detached space, either a small addition connected by a breezeway or a stand-alone accessory dwelling unit, sometimes called an ADU or a granny flat, in the backyard, this is the most involved and most expensive route, but it offers the most privacy and flexibility. A full addition or new ADU build can range from roughly $60,000 for a small, simple structure up past $300,000 for a larger, fully custom unit with a complete kitchen and bath.

Here is the part that trips buyers up: zoning. Not every township or city in West Michigan currently allows a detached accessory dwelling unit, and the rules vary block by block in some cases. Grand Rapids has moved to allow ADUs as an accessory use on most single- and two-family lots, and Michigan lawmakers introduced legislation in 2026 aimed at making it easier for ADUs to connect to existing sewer service, a sign that the state is trending toward more flexibility. But Muskegon County townships and municipalities each set their own rules, and some are more restrictive than others. If a detached suite or ADU is part of your plan, this needs to be confirmed with the local zoning office before you write an offer, not after. It is one of the very first things I check for clients pursuing this path.

What to Look for When You Tour a Home

Whether you are buying a home with an existing suite or one you plan to convert, walk through with this checklist in mind:

•       A bedroom and full bathroom on the main floor, ideally with a step-free or low-threshold entry

•       A separate or semi-separate entrance so a parent can come and go without walking through the main living space

•       Existing plumbing rough-ins in a basement or lower level, which dramatically cuts conversion cost

•       Wide hallways and doorways that could accommodate a walker or wheelchair down the road, even if it is not needed today

•       Sound separation between the suite and the main living areas, whether that is distance, a finished basement ceiling, or simply a layout where bedrooms do not share a wall

•       Driveway and parking that comfortably fits two households' worth of vehicles

•       Proximity to medical care, pharmacies, and grocery stores, since reduced driving matters more as parents age

•       Local zoning rules, especially if you are hoping to add a detached suite or ADU later

A home does not need to check every box on day one. Many of my clients buy a home that is 80 percent of the way there and finish the remaining 20 percent, the kitchenette, the extra grab bars, the widened doorway, over the following year. The key is buying a home where those upgrades are realistic instead of a home that fights you every step of the way.

The Financial Case, Beyond Emotional Peace of Mind

This decision is emotional, but it is also financial, and the numbers often make more sense than families expect. A parent contributing to the mortgage or covering their own suite's utilities can meaningfully offset a house payment. Skipping even a year or two of assisted living costs, which frequently run several thousand dollars per month in West Michigan, can free up tens of thousands of dollars that stay in the family instead of going to a facility. And because buyers nationally are paying a real premium for homes built for multigenerational living, a well-chosen property in this category tends to be a durable investment rather than a compromise. You are not just solving today's caregiving challenge. You are buying a home that will likely appeal to the next family facing the exact same challenge when it is time for you to sell.

How I Help Families Navigate This

I built my business around being a problem solver first and a salesperson second. When a client calls me about finding a home for their aging parents, I am not just pulling up a list of houses with a bonus room. I am asking about mobility needs today and mobility needs five years from now. I am checking township zoning before we ever schedule a showing on a property where an ADU might be part of the plan. I am walking basements and garages with a contractor's eye toward what a conversion would actually cost and how long it would actually take. And I am staying in the conversation after closing, because I know the work does not end when you get the keys.

If you are staring down this decision, whether it is urgent or something you can see coming in the next year or two, you do not have to figure it out alone. This is exactly the kind of real estate pain point I want on my desk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an in-law suite?

An in-law suite is a private living space within or attached to a home, typically including a bedroom, bathroom, and often a small kitchen or kitchenette, designed for a family member such as an aging parent to live semi-independently while remaining close to the rest of the household.

How much does it cost to add an in-law suite to a house?

Costs vary widely based on the type of project. Converting an existing basement into a suite typically costs $10,000 to $30,000, converting a garage runs roughly $20,000 to $60,000, and a full new addition or detached accessory dwelling unit can range from about $60,000 to well over $300,000 depending on size and finishes. Homeowners nationally spend an average of around $82,750 on an in-law suite project.

Can I legally add an in-law suite or ADU to my home in Michigan?

It depends entirely on local zoning, which varies by city and township across West Michigan. Some communities allow accessory dwelling units as a matter of right, while others restrict or prohibit them. Always confirm zoning rules with the local municipality before purchasing a property with this plan in mind, or work with a local agent who checks this as part of the search.

Is it cheaper to buy a home with an existing in-law suite or to convert one myself?

Buying a home that already has a functional suite is usually faster and often more predictable on cost, though these homes can carry a price premium. Converting a space yourself can be more affordable if the home already has helpful bones, like existing plumbing or a walkout basement, but costs can climb quickly if structural changes are needed.

What West Michigan communities are good fits for multigenerational homes?

Muskegon, Norton Shores, North Muskegon, Fruitport, and Grand Haven all have inventory that ranges from ranch homes with existing suites to larger lots suited for a future addition. The right community usually comes down to proximity to the family members doing the day-to-day caregiving, plus access to medical care and everyday errands.

Will a multigenerational home be harder to sell later?

Generally, no. National data shows multigenerational and lifelong-living homes are drawing strong buyer interest and commanding a price premium per square foot, largely because the same caregiving and cost pressures driving your search today are driving other buyers' searches too.

Thinking Through a Move for Your Family?

If you are weighing a move to accommodate an aging parent, or you simply want to understand what is realistic in today's West Michigan market, let's talk. I will walk you through real options, real numbers, and real properties, no pressure, no jargon.

Chris Simpson | Five Star Real Estate

Phone: (231) 215-7229

Email: [email protected]

Website: ChrisSimpsonWestMichiganRealEstate.com

Follow: @MuskegonRealEstateAgent

About the Author

Chris Simpson is a licensed REALTOR® with Five Star Real Estate, serving buyers and sellers throughout the West Michigan lakeshore, including Muskegon, Norton Shores, Grand Haven, North Muskegon, and Fruitport. Known for treating every transaction like a problem to be solved rather than a box to be checked, Chris helps families navigate the real-life challenges behind a move, from first-time purchases to the complex housing needs that come with caring for aging parents.

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