Next Gen homes are being built in Phoenix and California's Inland Empire and Central Valley, and soon will be constructed in Las Vegas as well. Those regions have among the highest foreclosure rates and biggest price declines since the U.S. housing bubble burst, increasing the need for new designs to boost sales, Roos said.
Competing Well
"We think it will compete very well versus a foreclosure or distressed sale," he said in a telephone interview from his office in Aliso Viejo, California. "It allows proximity and independence."
Ronald Cosey, a San Bernardino County government auditor, said he wished the Next Gen model was available when he bought a house last year in Rosena Ranch, so he could either accommodate his mother or take in a renter for extra income.
"In this economy, everyone is struggling," Cosey, who lives alone, said during a visit to compare the model home with his own. "Maybe you can find a foreclosure cheaper, but with this new home, with the extra income, it's definitely a benefit."
Pooling Resources
Zoning rules and building codes prohibit the Next Gen homes from having a full stove in the smaller unit's kitchen, a restriction to discourage rentals, Roos said. The personal finance benefits may occur as extended families pool resources for down payments and mortgage bills, said John Burns, chairman of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, California.
"It's a real opportunity for homeownership for people that couldn't get it otherwise," he said in a telephone interview. "Imagine a young couple that can't afford a home by themselves but mom can help them. That works out really well."
The U.S. homeownership rate was 66.3 percent as of Sept. 30, down from a high of 69.2 percent in June 2004, the Census Bureau reported Nov. 2.
Pulte, the nation's largest builder by revenue, offers new homes with stand-alone smaller units or the option of converting garages to "casitas," the Spanish word for small houses. Other Pulte features to accommodate extended families include ground- floor master bedrooms for elderly family members who can't climb stairs.