Building For People Who Refuse to Rent Their Whole Lives

An op-ed by Rachael Barclay. A Voice of the Movement.

Last week, Seattle public radio devoted a podcast episode to a question I get asked at almost every dinner party I go to: would you buy a house with friends?

The episode is called Would you buy a house with friends? Meet some people who did, and it ran on KUOW Booming, the NPR Network show about the economic forces shaping the Pacific Northwest. Joshua McNichols spent two weeks reporting it. The reSpace team gave him a tour of reSpace's first home in Leschi, a craftsman a few blocks from Lake Washington that reSpace converted into five private suites with five owners on the LLC. The segment closes the episode.

I want to share what KUOW said, because they said it better than I ever have.

As heard on · Featured in New York Post

What KUOW Said About reSpace

Verbatim, what aired:

"Building for people who refuse to rent their whole lives. People are intrigued. Take existing home, carve them into suites each with their own bathrooms. First project in Leschi near Lake Washington. Easier to replicate instead of paying a landlord. You can bring your own group, or it can set you up with people. reSpace."

That is not language reSpace wrote. That is how Seattle public radio described what reSpace is doing.

Here is why that matters, and what the rest of the country needs to know.

The Math Stopped Working a Long Time Ago

The same week KUOW ran the cohousing episode, the New York Post ran a piece on a survey from SpareFoot that should land harder than it has so far. The headline:

"More than half of young adults moved back home after leaving."

The numbers, all from that piece:

• 58% of young adults who moved out later moved back in with their parents. 15% have done it more than once.
• 3 in 4 say living with family is a smart financial strategy, not a setback.
• 45% name unaffordable housing as the main reason. That beat job loss (36%) as the driver.
• 33% of 18 to 34-year-olds currently live with their parents per Census figures, and the number is higher in expensive states. California (39.1%), New Jersey (44.1%), Connecticut (41.3%).
• 30% of young adults who have not yet bought a home say they do not expect to ever buy one.

Read that last one again. Almost a third of the young Americans who are still saving for their first home are doing the math and concluding it will never pencil.

And the NY Post piece quotes reSpace's founder, Katrina Romatowski, by way of Realtor.com:

"reSpace was created for exactly this changing reality. Homes need to support flexible, multigenerational living without forcing everyone into one undifferentiated ownership box."

She is right. And reSpace has built the thing that proves it.

What Co-Homeownership Actually Looks Like

The version Joshua described on KUOW is not theoretical. It is a craftsman in Leschi, blocks from Lake Washington, which reSpace redesigned so each of five private suites has its own bathroom. The common kitchen, the coworking nook, the backyard deck, the dining room: shared. Five owners on the LLC. Each a real owner. Each suite owned, not rented. Each owner with the right to sell their share later to a buyer they pick or one reSpace's compatibility process brings in.

That is the answer to the boomerang generation question the NY Post is asking. Young adults are not moving home because they cannot handle independence. They are moving home because solo single-person ownership is the version of the American dream that broke. The math works again at three to six adults per house.

Why Seattle Goes First

Seattle has the right ingredients for this category to land. A high-cost market that is squeezing first-time buyers out. A surplus of single-family homes with more bedrooms than people in them. Neighborhood centers that the city is rezoning to allow more density without changing the character. And, increasingly, the cultural permission to do something other than what our parents did.

reSpace's first home is in Leschi. reSpace has homes in pre-development in Madison Park, Madrona, Mount Baker, Wallingford, Green Lake. If you own one of those homes and the cash offers in your mailbox feel like the wrong answer, there is a different conversation to have.

What I Want You to Take Away

One. Seattle public radio devoted an episode to this category. That is a signal that the conversation has moved out of the early-adopter phase.

Two. National data confirms that the cohort that should be buying their first home is not. The version of ownership built for the 1960s is not coming back. The reasons are economic, not personal.

Three. There is a version of ownership that pencils right now. Co-homeownership through an LLC with three to six other owners. Real ownership, real exit, real neighborhood. That is what reSpace has built. That is what KUOW described. That is what the boomerang generation will eventually demand if reSpace does not give it to them first.

If you have been waiting for permission to consider it, this is your permission.

FAQ

What is co-homeownership?

Co-homeownership is shared ownership of a single home by three to six unrelated adults through a limited liability company. Each owner holds a membership interest in the LLC, each suite is private with its own bathroom, common areas are shared. Each owner has the right to sell their share later.

How is this different from a roommate situation?

Roommates rent. Co-homeowners own. The home is held by an LLC. Each owner has a membership interest in that LLC. Roommates leave at the end of a lease. Co-homeowners can sell their share, the same way you sell a home, just at a smaller scale.

How is this different from a multifamily building?

A multifamily building is multiple separate units. A reSpace home is a single home with shared common areas and private suites. The model is closer to a chosen-family household where everyone is an owner than to apartment living.

Can I bring my own group, or will reSpace match me with people?

Both. If you have a friend group, family group, or chosen group ready to buy together, you can come in as a pre-formed group. If you are a solo applicant, you go through the reSpace compatibility process and match with other owners who fit your suite preferences, financial picture, and life stage.

What happens if I want to sell my share later?

Your share of the home is real ownership through the LLC. You can sell your share to a new buyer the same way you sell a traditional home, at a smaller scale. You can bring your own buyer. Or reSpace can run the compatibility process and find one from the reSpace waitlist. The remaining owners approve any new owner joining. Like the sale of any home, there is no guarantee on timing, but the structure was built for exits, not against them.

Where are reSpace homes located?

The first reSpace home is in Leschi, near Lake Washington, in Seattle, Washington. Additional homes are in pre-development in Madison Park, Madrona, Mount Baker, Wallingford, and Green Lake. reSpace focuses on Seattle neighborhood centers that combine walkability, transit, and the kind of single-family housing stock that converts well.

Who is reSpace for?

Anyone who refuses to rent their whole life and has been priced out of solo single-person ownership in Seattle. Buyers reSpace hears from typically include young professionals priced out of solo Seattle ownership, friend groups buying together, chosen-family households, multigenerational families, and people who want neighborhood stability without taking on the full carrying cost of an entire home alone.

Listen and Read

• KUOW Booming, "Would you buy a house with friends? Meet some people who did" (audio, 17 min)
• Same episode on Spotify
• Same episode on Apple Podcasts
• New York Post, "More than half of young adults moved back home after leaving" (Kiri Blakeley, June 2, 2026)

Always,
Rachael Barclay
A Voice of the Movement