Tax time approaches, which means taking inventory of dependents, especially those under 18 years of age.
In Dallas, households are full of dependents. This region ranked fourth among the largest U.S. cities for the share of households with children under 18 (32.5 percent) and eighth for the average number of people per household (3.28), according to a report by Lombardo Homes, a Michigan-based homebuilder.
Lombardo Homes assembled its rankings of the nation’s 40 most populous cities based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Houston ranked second in the share of households with children under 18 (33.8), just behind Fresno, Calif. (35.8). El Paso was third at 32.6 and Austin ninth at 29.3. Houston was fourth in number of residents per household (3.3). San Antonio 11th (3.18), and Austin 31st (2.91).
Nationally, it’s not exactly The Waltons out there anymore.
“The number of families in America has been on the decline for 20 years,” the Lombardo Homes report says. “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).”
A Zillow report in December backed the Lombardo Homes survey, finding that Americans of every age group and ethnicity are forming households at lower rates than before the Great Recession of 2007-2009, which impacted household debt and job opportunities. According to the report, the recovery, notably from 2015-2017, was hampered by rapid growth in home prices.
If today’s demographic groups formed households at the same rate they did in 2006, the U.S. would have 5.7 million more households today, according to the report.
But despite the negative finding, the same report has a positive forecast.
“If and when the economy begins recovering again once the pandemic has passed, it may very well be that the best outcome will show that the decline in headship was only temporary and that demand for homes that may have been satisfied this year will simply be pushed into next year and beyond,” the report said. “Even so, in only a few short months, the pandemic has proven how delicate progress can be.”
Other Notable Reports
- Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index: Buying a home in making a comeback in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The Beracha, Hardin & Johnson Buy vs. Rent Index analyzed 23 metro markets and determined whether consumers will create wealth faster by buying a home and building equity or renting the same property and reinvesting. An index score approaching 1 means that renting and reinvesting are strongly favored. A score approaching negative 1 means owning and building equity is the better option. A score near 0 indicates a tossup between the two. D/FW crossed into the renting preference in 2014, but has experienced a decline since 2019, likely because of low interest rates, the report found. Learn more here.
- National Association of Home Builders: D/FW issued 43,884 construction permits for single-family homes in 2020, ranking the market second among the U.S. metro areas. Houston was first with 48,208. Learn more here.
- Zonda New Home Lot Supply Index: Dallas was Texas’ most undersupplied market in terms of lots available for new homes. The survey found that lot inventory in nearly every top market is undersupplied. with Austin and Houston not that far behind. Learn more here.
- Texas Real Estate Research Center: Blame it on the winter storm. In February, only 6,958 single-family home purchases were completed in North Texas, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center and North Texas Real Estate Information Systems. Learn more here.
