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Why Falling Birth Rates Reshape the Housing Market
Description
Episode 38 of The Demographics Podcast explores how declining fertility rates are fundamentally reshaping housing demand, property values, and urban development. Lucas and Luna examine the case of Japan, where the number of abandoned homes has surpassed 9 million, and compare it to emerging trends in the US, where the National Association of Realtors reports a 12% drop in first-time homebuyer demand among Millennials. They discuss how smaller household sizes are increasing per capita square footage even as total population declines, and why investors are betting on senior housing and smaller urban condos over suburban family homes. The hosts also touch on the role of remote work in accelerating this shift, and what it means for municipal budgets reliant on property taxes. A concrete, data-driven look at an underappreciated economic consequence of aging populations.