Forget the Nursing Home Because California’s ADU Boom Is Keeping Families Together
I drive through neighborhoods in Los Angeles these days and notice something different. Backyards have cranes. Driveways have permit notices. Families are not offering the spare bedroom anymore. They are pouring concrete.
The guest room model is quietly dying. The ADU – Accessory Dwelling Unit, or what people used to call a “granny flat” is replacing it. Not because it is trendy. Because the old way stopped working.
California’s ADU boom is not a real estate fad. It is a response to broken housing economics, aging parents, adult children who cannot afford to leave, and a state that finally rewrote its laws to match how families actually live.
The Numbers Are Not Subtle
Nationally, nearly 4 million owner-occupied households – 4.5% of all homes are made up of three or more generations of the same family, up from 4.3% in 2019, according to a Realtor.com report based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2024…