The NAHB report shows that the trend of sharing homes among nonrelatives is a result of rising housing and apartment rental costs. As of 2023, more than one in five leaseholders or homeowners ages 18 to 24 was sharing housing with unrelated roommates.
Meanwhile, the number of households led by 55- to 64-year-olds who shared housing nearly doubled from 2005 to 2023, reaching 1 million. The number of house sharers in the age 65-plus age group also increased, making up 15 percent of all house-sharing households.
The report states that the surge in older households sharing housing with nonrelatives reflects the aging U.S. population, with many Baby Boomers now filling the ranks of 55-plus households.
“The trend with these types of housing arrangements is rising, and it’s becoming a lot more common to see Baby Boomers involved as well,” Natalia Siniavskaia, NAHB assistant vice president of policy research, told The Epoch Times.
“A lot of older adults are opening up their homes to renters so that they can meet their monthly expenses.”
Siniavskaia noted that in her Washington neighborhood, two unrelated grandmothers are sharing a home, while another older woman is renting out her basement apartment to a graduate student.
“All of these women are widows, and these arrangements are helping them financially,” she said. “I also think a lot of seniors want to be able to stay in their own communities, instead of moving to retirement facilities, which can be very expensive.”
On the other side, these rental opportunities are helping younger people find an alternative to costly apartment leases, Siniavskaia said.
“Housing affordability has been deteriorating, and this is a great way for young people to have their own space and still save money,” she said.
Siniavskaia also noted that about 19 percent of younger adults in their 20s and early 30s continue to live with parents as another way of saving money.
Justin Ellerby, co-founder of HomeShare American River in Sacramento, California, operates a local nonprofit home-sharing program that helps homeowners and home seekers of any age find the best home-sharing options to meet their individual needs.
“We want to make it safe and fair for unrelated people to share a home, whether it’s rented or owned,” he told The Epoch Times. “We provide tenant screening, matching, and ongoing support.”
Interested parties can apply as a guest or host, then undergo an interview and screening with HomeShare. After a match is found, an agreement is drafted, and a two-week trial begins.
During the application process, guests are asked about their maximum sustainable monthly rent and utilities. The screening process includes a credit report, previous address history, bad checks, California evictions, and nationwide or federal criminal, sex offender, and terrorist background checks. There is no cost to the host or guest.
Ellerby loosely compared the service to Uber, the transportation company that connects drivers with passengers in need of rides. Uber also screens its drivers and provides riders with photos of the driver and a description of the driver’s car.
“In this case, we are the ones doing the legwork and filling a gap that’s definitely needed today,” he said.
Because many prospective hosts and guests may hesitate to use the more generic roommate searches such as Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace, they rely on HomeShare to do all of the background checking and matchmaking.
“Sometimes, they don’t want the hassle of dealing with this themselves, and they also want to be sure they’re going to end up living in a safe environment,” Ellerby said.
He said he deals with people of all ages and backgrounds and has noticed more people in their 50s and 60s applying as either hosts or guests.
“Sometimes, people are very specific about little things like room temperature,” Ellerby said. “If it’s too hot or too cold somewhere, that could be a deal-breaker.”
A former home sharer himself, Ellerby recalled one experience in which the host insisted on using a dish rag in the kitchen instead of a sponge.
“I ended up keeping the sponge in my bedroom,” he said.
“Sometimes, hosts or guests are looking for housemates to become their companion. There’s definitely a level of detail in finding a good match.”
In other situations, a guest with limited funds might agree to take on household chores as part of his or her shared living arrangement.
HomeShare is part of the National Shared Housing Resource Center, a network for independent and not-for-profit home-sharing programs across the United States.
