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Homes advertised for multigenerational living in Raleigh-Cary carried a $719,000 median asking price in 2025. That's 51.4% higher than standard listings.
They also attracted 44.4% more listing page views.
But the price-per-square-foot difference was only 7.2%.
For families trying to make space for a parent, adult child or other relative, the higher total asking price may reflect buying more house—not an identifiable premium for an in-law suite. A main-floor bedroom could meet one household's needs. Another may require a self-contained apartment, while a family with enough space at home might avoid moving altogether.
The figures come from a Realtor.com report published May 5, 2026. Its national findings drew attention, but the Raleigh-Cary comparison makes the practical question immediate: What kind of space is the household actually paying for?
Why the Price Gap Looks Different Per Square Foot
Realtor.com's researchers examined active for-sale listings from 2025, looking for descriptions that mentioned features associated with multigenerational living.
Terms such as "in-law suite," "guest house," "granny flat" and "accessory dwelling unit" helped identify the properties.
In Raleigh-Cary, 6.2% of the listings studied fell into that category.
Their median asking price per square foot was $237.
Nationally, the pattern was similar, although the gaps were larger.
Homes advertised for multigenerational use had a median asking price of $709,000, compared with $429,900 for standard listings. That's approximately 65% higher. The national price-per-square-foot difference was about 22%.
Larger homes and their concentration in more expensive markets help explain the national comparison.
A home advertised with an in-law suite may simply offer considerably more total living space than another property.
The Raleigh-Cary figures don't isolate that feature's value from differences in size, location, condition or other characteristics. They're comparisons between groups of advertised properties, not evidence of what an addition or renovation would contribute to a home's resale value.
The extra page views show attention, not unique buyers, offers or willingness to pay.
The research included active for-sale single-family homes and condominiums, excluding rentals, pending sales and deleted records. These are 2025 asking-price observations, not October 2026 prices or completed-sale results.
There's a geographic limit, too. According to the North Carolina Department of Commerce, the Raleigh-Cary metropolitan area covers Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties. Durham-Chapel Hill is a separate metropolitan area, so these figures don't describe the entire Triangle.
The report also counts households, not just listings—and uses a more specific definition of multigenerational living.
Nearly 4 Million Households, but Not Necessarily the Families You'd Expect
The same report found that nearly 4 million owner-occupied American households contained three or more generations in 2024.
That represented 4.5% of owner-occupied households, up from 4.3% in 2019.
The increase is modest, but the definition is important.
Imagine a Raleigh couple whose adult daughter moves back home after college. They're sharing a household across two generations, but that arrangement alone wouldn't qualify under the Census measure used in the report.
If a grandchild also lived there, the household might meet the three-generation definition.
The listing research works differently. It identifies properties based on how sellers describe them, regardless of who actually lives there.
A home advertised with a guest house might be purchased by a couple who never intend to accommodate relatives. Another family might share an ordinary four-bedroom house without needing a separate dwelling.
So a search for homes with an "in-law suite" can turn up spaces designed for very different daily routines.
The In-Law Suite That Isn't Really an Apartment
Picture a family comparing two homes.
The first has a generous main-floor bedroom with its own bathroom. A parent could avoid climbing stairs, and everyone would share the main kitchen and living areas.
The second has a smaller apartment above the garage, with a kitchen, bathroom and separate entrance. It offers more independence, but reaching it may mean climbing stairs.
Both might appeal to the same family. Both might appear in searches for multigenerational homes.
But they're not interchangeable.
A relative who wants fewer stairs and enjoys sharing meals might prefer the first arrangement. Someone who values an independent schedule and cooking space might prefer the garage apartment—if those stairs work for them.
Before treating the garage apartment as a separate residence, a buyer must establish whether it was legally approved for that use.
Raleigh defines an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU as a smaller, self-contained home on the same lot as the main dwelling. It can be detached, attached or contained within the existing home, including a converted garage or basement.
The city's ADU FAQ describes a unit with living and sleeping areas, a kitchen, bathroom and lockable exterior entrance.
A finished bonus room with a bathroom isn't automatically an ADU. Neither is a space that happens to have been used as an apartment for years.
For existing space, buyers should confirm its approved use. For a proposed unit, Raleigh requires the applicable permits: new detached construction follows the new single-family dwelling process, while attached additions and conversions follow the applicable addition or change-of-use processes. The city's Fast Track designs are pre-reviewed for building-code compliance, but still need the required permits and lot-specific approval.
Under the city's published rules, most eligible lots allow one ADU. Properties in designated Frequent Transit Areas may qualify for two. Zoning, size and site requirements, homeowners association restrictions and historic-district review can also affect what's possible.
An ADU cannot be sold separately from the principal home under Raleigh's rules.
Those are Raleigh's rules, not a metro-wide ordinance.
Cary expanded its ADU ordinance in 2025, allowing ADUs in residential districts that permit detached homes and increasing maximum sizes according to the property and main residence. Setbacks, applicable association restrictions and building requirements still apply.
Neither city's requirements should be assumed to apply elsewhere in Wake, Johnston or Franklin counties.
North Carolina Sets an ADU Baseline for 2027
On August 11, 2026, North Carolina enacted Session Law 2026-59, including new requirements for accessory dwelling units.
For qualifying noncoastal cities with populations of at least 50,000, the legislation requires allowing at least one code-compliant ADU with a detached single-family home in applicable residential areas. It also limits certain local restrictions.
Raleigh and Cary already permit ADUs under their own rules. The new state baseline doesn't, by itself, establish a newly available option for any particular property in either municipality.
Its principal permit provisions apply to applications submitted on or after January 15, 2027. Municipalities have until July 1, 2027 to adopt implementing regulations, although ordinances already meeting the law's requirements don't need to be replaced.
Those are different deadlines: one governs when the new permit provisions begin applying, while the other addresses municipal implementation.
Private deed restrictions aren't erased. Historic-property exceptions, relevant utility conditions and applicable state and federal requirements also remain. The law prevents a permitted ADU from later being separated from the main residence through subdivision onto another parcel.
For an application in October 2026, a homeowner considering a garage conversion or backyard cottage must still follow the applicable current local permit process.
Does Sharing a Home Actually Save Money?
The two layouts can lead to very different expenses. Sharing a home may reduce duplicated costs, but it doesn't eliminate the expense of owning one.
A Raleigh household that already owns a home with a main-floor bedroom and bathroom might make modest alterations for a relative, rather than move. It still has the home's carrying costs: any mortgage, property taxes, insurance, repairs and applicable association dues.
Another household needs a separate kitchen and entrance. Getting those features could require buying a different property or paying for design, construction, permits and utility work, on top of ongoing ownership expenses.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also advises buyers to budget for closing and moving costs alongside ongoing ownership expenses. Sharing bills doesn't automatically qualify everyone's income for a mortgage, establish ownership rights or guarantee savings.
For relatives planning to purchase together, there's an additional set of questions about financing, ownership, responsibility for expenses and what happens if someone eventually wants to move. Those issues are covered in HomesRaleigh's Buying a Home With Parents or Another Household in North Carolina.
The Choice Behind the Asking Price
A household that needs easy main-floor access may choose the shared kitchen over an upstairs apartment. Another may accept those stairs for the privacy of a legally approved separate space. And a family whose current home can be adapted may decide not to move at all.
Those are different answers to the question hidden inside Raleigh-Cary's listing figures: What will this home let relatives do comfortably every day—and what will they have to pay for it?
Conceptual illustration of a main home and a smaller backyard cottage. No actual property or approved ADU is shown.
