By: Lombardo Living

The Future of Families in America

The number of families in America has been on the decline for 20 years. In the last decade alone, the number of households where parents live with children under the age of 18 has declined by more than three million (though you wouldn’t know it from the strength of the custom new construction market).

The big question: will the Covid-19 pandemic have any effect on this trend?

In our latest study, we’ve set out to answer that, and along the way, to explore recently released data from the US Census Bureau, to determine which states and cities in America are most densely populated with families.

We began our analysis by assessing where families are largest – and houses fullest – by both state and across the 40 most populous cities. The map below depicts states with the most people per household, on average, and the table shows the same data for large cities.

Notably, the west coast – particularly when Alaska and Hawaii are included – has more people per household than any other region of the country. Five of the top 10 cities with the fullest houses are in California alone, and just six of the top 20 cities are east of the Mississippi River.

In addition to exploring the size of households, we determined which cities have the highest percentage of families. While large urban environments aren’t known for being especially family-friendly, we looked at data in the 40 largest cities again, for comparative insight.

As with the data depicting the size of households, California and Texas cities continue to dominate, with Fresno once again topping the list. On the east coast, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Charlotte are the three most family-dense metro regions.

When we opened our examination to all cities, regardless of size, we got quite a different picture. Of the 25 cities that have the highest percentage of families, only Houston is included from the large city list.

Returning to our original question, about the future of families in America, we asked 800 people – both parents and non-parents alike – how the pandemic has shaped their attitudes towards having children, or their ongoing family planning, if it has at all. It’s safe to say this once-in-a-century tragedy has been highly disruptive and disorienting for millions of Americans, and with that comes a lot of reflection and perhaps new paths in life.

The reassuring news is, on the whole, a majority of people’s family planning has not been affected by the pandemic. But there are some noteworthy changes.

Perhaps the most striking statistic is that 45 percent of current couples without children say the pandemic will likely delay them starting a family. Of course, that could mean only a matter of months, but it’s a significant number no less, and one that may continue to push the trend of fewer families in America over the coming years.

Finally, we asked about one of the most obvious consequences of the pandemic outside of health concerns related to the virus – increased financial pressure. Fifty-eight percent of parents say the pandemic has disrupted their savings plan for their children. This is yet another reminder of what a devastating event this has been and how far its effects could reverberate into the future. That said, we are nothing if not a resilient nation, and from these hardships we certainly have an opportunity to forge a brighter future.

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TUCSON, ARIZONA – La Mirada Apartments at 4415 & 4515 East Grant Road in Tucson sold for $18 million ($89,552 per unit). The 201-unit complex, built in 1973, is 198,331-square-feet on 8.57 acres with two-and three-bedroom units.

Units have air conditioning, ceiling fan(s), hardwood flooring, oversized closets, dishwasher, gas range, refrigerator and views of the Catalina Mountains. There are two pools and a clubhouse with conference room, gas and charcoal grills, lush courtyard and two laundry facilities. Property is on bus line with gated access, cable ready, has extra storage and high-speed internet access.

The strong close to 2020 in the Tucson multifamily market has set the stage for another year of healthy performance in 2021.

The local vacancy rate is at the lowest point in a generation, despite a fairly active pace of multifamily development in each of the past two years. There is an additional nine projects  with 1,426 units expected to come online in 2021, and the vacancy rate is likely to inch higher.

The pace of transaction activity in Tucson have leveled off a bit in the first few months of the year, following a wave of property sales.

Property sales in four of the past five years have outpaced the long-term trend, reflecting the healthy levels of investor demand, strong property fundamentals, and low borrowing costs available in the market.

One transformation that has occurred in recent years has been the increase in larger transactions. Market forecasters are predicting an increase in these transactions in the first half of the year.

Joseph Chaplik of Joseph Bernard Investment Real Estate represented the seller, Tolu Real Estate, LLC of Burlingame, CA. Joe Boyle also with Joseph Bernard Investment Real Estate represented the buyer, Drake T16 La Mirada Owner, LLC of Encinitas, CA.

For more information, Chaplik and Boyle should be reached at 503.546.9390

To learn more, see RED Comp #8574.