New research led by University of Sydney economists and published in the Journal of Housing Economics shows that “housing constitutes a major cost of raising a child so, as the cost of housing increases, having children in Australia has become more expensive”.
The disincentive is especially pronounced for renters, “who are generally less financially secure than home owners, [and] may choose to delay having children in the face of rapidly rising house prices”.
The results come as Australian fertility rate has been below the replacement rate since the late 1970s, while the real price of housing has more than tripled during the same period.
