Millennials (25 to 29-year-olds) are putting off parenthood and that, in turn, has an effect on the real estate market.
The Centers for Disease Control (okay that’s an odd choice of agency to monitor birth rates) report birth rates for women 20 to 24 dropped 2% between 2012 and 2013. Birth rates for 25- to 29-year-olds have dropped 1% every year since 2008.
This is an all-time low for birth rates (Forbes.com June 2018.) Sociologists and economists agree that the economy contribute to this decline.
A significant drop in birthrates followed the Great Recession of 2008. But a decade later, Vox.com points out that the birth rate has still not recovered while the economy has.
Newgeography.com’s owner Joel Kotkin stated in the New York Post (July 2018) that since growth returned, young people have been heading to child-friendly suburbs and exurbs, ditching subway cards for SUV fobs. NewGeography.com is a website devoted to analyzing and debating where we live and work. Kotkin added that all of this raises the possibility of current stubbornly low birth rates being on the verge of a rise.
When and if Millennials cross over to becoming parents they may consider moving from their urban dwelling to the ‘burbs.
A joint study by Zillow and Care.com in March 2017 compared the costs of housing, property taxes, and childcare in major cities to their outlying suburbs. Most urban cores had a higher cost of living than their suburbs. Chicagoans pay an extra $18,472 a year compared to urban parents; in Dallas, the increased cost is $14,128. However, the opposite was true in some metro areas including Denver. Urban Denverites spend $3,635 less than suburbanites, mostly due to transportation costs.
If you’re a part of the Millennial demographic and are considering a move out of Denver central to the suburbs, contact Park Properties Realty. Our pros are knowledgeable about the options the Front Range has to offer.