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The Impact of the Real Estate Market on Fertility | NBER

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Housing prices have a significant impact on a family's decision to have children, according to a new study by Lisa Dettling and Melissa Schettini Kearney. In House Prices and Birth Rates: The Impact of the Real Estate Market on the Decision to Have a Baby (NBER Working Paper No. 17485), they find that a 10 percent increase in home prices leads to a 1 percent decrease in births among non-homeowners in an average metropolitan area. However, the negative effect among non-owners is offset by a 4.5 percent increase in births among current homeowners, who are now wealthier. The total fertility effect of an increase in house prices varies across demographic groups, largely because their rates of homeownership differ. The authors conclude that "house prices are a relevant factor in a couple's decision to have a baby..." Rising home values have a negative impact on birth rates because they represent, on average, the largest component of the cost of raising a child: larger than food, child care,

The Impact of the Real Estate Market on Fertility | NBER Skip to main content The Digest A monthly periodical featuring non-technical summaries of research on topics of broad public interest. Subscribe Share X LinkedIn Facebook Bluesky Threads Email Link The Impact of the Real Estate Market on Fertility 02/01/2012 Summary of working paper 17485 Featured in print Digest House prices are a relevant factor in a couple's decision to have a baby. Housing prices have a significant impact on a family's decision to have children, according to a new study by Lisa Dettling and Melissa Schettini Kearney

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