Why More BC Families Are Building Homes Together

Multigenerational living is having a quiet resurgence in the Fraser Valley — not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity. What’s driving it, and what does it actually take to build a home that works for multiple generations under one roof?

  There’s a conversation happening in kitchens and around dining tables across the Fraser Valley that didn’t happen the same way a decade ago. Families are looking at housing costs, looking at aging parents, looking at kids who can’t get into the market, and arriving at the same question: what if we just built something together?   Multigenerational housing isn’t a new concept — in many cultures it’s never gone away. But in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley context, it’s increasingly a practical response to a specific set of pressures: land prices that have made independent homeownership progressively harder for younger buyers, a growing population of seniors who want to stay close to family rather than move into care facilities, and a generational wealth dynamic where older family members have equity and younger ones have income, but neither has quite enough on their own.  

What the Market Looks Like

Single-family lots in the Fraser Valley that would have sold for $350,000 ten years ago are now trading at multiples of that number. The math for a young family trying to buy independently in Chilliwack or Abbotsford or Hope has changed substantially. At the same time, that same valley has a significant population of homeowners in their 60s and 70s sitting on substantial equity in properties that are often larger than their current needs justify.   When families start doing the math on a combined build — pooling resources to buy a larger lot, or adding a well-designed secondary suite or carriage house to an existing property — the numbers often start to work in ways that individual ownership no longer can. Add provincial policy changes that have made secondary suites and coach houses easier to permit in many municipalities, and the structural barriers have come down considerably.  

What Makes a Multigenerational Home Actually Work

The difference between a well-designed multigenerational home and an awkward one almost always comes down to how intentional the design was about independence. The homes that seem to function best over the long run tend to share a few characteristics:  

• Separate entries that allow each household to come and go without crossing through each other’s space
• Real acoustic separation between units — not just fire separation, but genuine sound insulation so that living patterns don’t constantly collide
• Future-proofing for aging in place — wider doorways, no-step entries, blocking in bathrooms for grab bars, single-level design for the older generation’s unit
• Legal suite status where applicable, which protects resale value and opens rental options if family circumstances change
• Shared outdoor spaces that feel intentional rather than carved up awkwardly between units

 

The Permitting Reality in the Fraser Valley

Zoning and permitting for multigenerational projects varies significantly across our service area. Secondary suites in single-family homes have become broadly accepted across most Fraser Valley municipalities, but carriage houses, coach houses, and full duplex builds on single lots require a closer look at what your specific property and zoning allow.   BC’s provincial government has been moving toward standardizing secondary suite permissions across the province, and recent changes have made it easier to add legal suites in more areas than before. But local regulations still govern setbacks, height restrictions, total floor area, and parking requirements — and they matter. Getting proper permitted work done from the start protects everyone involved and makes the eventual sale or transfer of the property significantly cleaner.  

What We’re Seeing on Our Projects

Over the last few years, we’ve had more conversations about multigenerational builds than at any previous point. The projects range from straightforward basement suite conversions to purpose-built side-by-side duplexes to properties where the plan from the start was to build two separate but connected structures. The common thread is that the families approaching it thoughtfully — with a genuine plan for how the spaces will function and how ownership will be structured — are the ones who end up happy with the outcome.   If you’re in the early stages of thinking through a multigenerational project, we’ve worked on these builds across the Fraser Valley and understand what the permitting and design process looks like from the ground up. Let’s talk through what you’re considering.