It's Either The Rent Or Kids In Australia

HiveBoxx

A recent University of Sydney research has unearthed some hard facts that spell - no kidding. 

A Stark Correlation

Per this study, Australia’s skyrocketing housing cost is discouraging people who live on rent from having children, while having the opposite effect on folks who own their homes. 

Historically, Australia - with a fertility rate below the replacement rate - has relied on immigration to drive population growth, and this first ever study linking housing prices to fertility has policy makers worried. 

What's Driving It?

Akin to most developed countries, Australia too is struggling with soaring housing costs thanks to record-low interest rates as central banks attempt to nurse their economies through the pandemic. 

The direct result of that measure has had a profound effect on the country's housing market value, which jumped by AUD596.4 billion (USD425 billion) to almost AUD9 trillion in the three months through June, the largest quarterly jump ever recorded.

And It Adds Up To...

An AUD100,000 increase in housing wealth is linked to an 18% rise in the probability of home-owners having a new child, the research showed. 

On the flip side, renters with no rise in housing wealth coupled with increasing liability of rental payments are deciding to put off having children. 

Word On The Street?

🎙 Sydney University said the research was the first time in Australia that family plans had been measured against home prices, adding that the findings matched similar work in the U.K., U.S. and Canada.