Extended families find ways to house multi-generations, whether it\u2019s large parcels of land and multiple lots or reconfiguring home layouts.<\/p>\n
When Megan McLeod<\/a> was looking for a farm to buy in the Muskoka region where she lives and works, she knew she wasn\u2019t the only one searching for a large property. She was part of a broader uptick in buyers seeking properties that would accommodate multi-generational families.<\/p>\n For McLeod, a Senior Vice-President of Sales at Sotheby\u2019s International Realty Canada, the sprawling 10-acre farm she bought is perfect. It will allow her to keep her aging parents close by, and because the acreage is large enough \u2014 and zoned accordingly \u2014 a second, smaller home can be built on it.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother would be on the same property and she\u2019d have her independent five-bedroom home, his own property in Mont-Tremblant, in the Laurentians, has a three-bedroom main house and a two-bedroom antique log cabin that he restored to its former glory. Over the past two years, the rustic hideaway \u2014 replete with a stone fireplace and an elk-antler chandelier \u2014 has functioned, in turns, as a guesthouse, home office and Covid-bubble accommodations, and space, but I\u2019d be just steps away,\u201d says McLeod, who is a certified home stager. For the last year and a half, she reports, there has been a trend back to bigger spaces that would house multiple generations under one roof.<\/p>\n However, Sotheby\u2019s International Realty Canada real estate broker\u00ae Herbie Ratsch<\/a> in Quebec forewarns those on the lookout for large parcels of land with multiple dwellings on-site. According to Ratsch, they\u2019re likely to encounter an \u201cincredibly low supply\u201d of such properties. But that\u2019s not a reason to be deterred, he assures them. \u201cIs there the perfect design right now? No. Can you build it? Yes, you can \u2014 by having multiple lots or larger parcels of land.\u201d<\/p>\n For example, instead of having a single depending on his family\u2019s needs. \u201cWhere we are, the ski hill is the bullseye. At the ski hill, you can get one or two acres. Then a bit farther, land goes up to three to five acres. Within a 20-minute drive from the ski hill, you can get thousands of acres,\u201d says Ratsch.\u201cI\u2019ve got two properties that are 100 percent private lakes \u2014 sites that make for a mega-family compound.\u201d<\/p>\n In Alberta, in a market like Canmore, where space is limited and outbuildings are rare, homeowners are addressing the problem of housing their extended families through interior layout changes. In one household, for example, the owners converted the lower level of their10,000-square-foot home to a grandkids-only zone. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be the family mountain retreat,\u201d notes Chris Vincent<\/a>, a Senior Vice-President of Sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. With eight custom built-in bunks, pocket doors dividing the washroom, and a games room off the bunk room, the kids\u2019 area is perfect for letting the family\u2019s younger generation run wild.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cThe adults can be upstairs at the bar[overlooking mountain vistas],\u201d says Vincent. \u201cThe kids don\u2019t need those views.\u201dMeanwhile, in Ontario\u2019s Muskoka region, large families are innovating in much the same way \u2014 indoors. At one property, situated along Mississauga Lake in the Kawarthas, four identical suites were designed to house four visiting adult children with families. \u201cEach suite has a master, a kids\u2019 bedroom, balcony, bathroom and a view of the lake,\u201d says McLeod. \u201cNobody\u2019s fighting over which room they get on the weekend. They all get the same view and their own two Muskoka chairs out on the balcony!\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s another great benefit to owning a property with wide-open spaces. Homeowners can get creative about how to use it. According to McLeod, during the pandemic, there has been a trend among her clients toward self-sufficiency, which surprised her \u2014 and was contagious.\u201cThat\u2019s why I bought my farm,\u201d McLeod admits, laughing. \u201cI can survive on my veggies and my eggs if I have to.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s an ethos shift that\u2019s happening across the country and finding its way into how people use their recreational properties, too.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people are looking to the future,\u201d says Gina Stockwell<\/a>, a Senior Vice-President of Sales at Sotheby\u2019s International Realty Canada, on B.C.\u2019s Sunshine Coast. \u201cWe have lots of farms [here] and I\u2019m finding that, because of Covid, there are people wanting to be more self-sufficient. I think we\u2019re going to be seeing that now, [given] the extreme weather we\u2019ve been having, and inflation. It\u2019s really disrupting the supply chain.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/InsightSpring22_recreport02.jpg\")
7790 19th Sideroad, King, ON<\/a><\/div>\n
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