Baby booms coincide with housing booms

Home prices can serve as and important economic indicator, but their influence can spread to unlikely places.

A recent study suggests when housing prices balloon, so do homeowners' families.

The study conducted by Lisa Dettling, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland, and Melissa Schettini Kearney, associate professor of economics at the same institution, found that a 10% increase in housing prices yields a 4% increase in fertility among homeowners.

The pair found that homeowners tend to use wealth increases as an excuse to get busy in the bedroom, as finances become more sound for childrearing.

Another study by the Pew Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, lends further support for the hypothesis. The research center analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and found a drastic dip in fertility rates following the housing crisis (see graph above).

With the hefty inventory of foreclosed homes still lurking in Florida, one can expect that the next baby boom may not be for a few more years.