経済的な不安で掻き消される、心の灯、未来を約束する希望の産声　　　　　　気ままなリライト６２

住宅高騰、増やせぬ子ども　面積も狭く心理冷やす

When young married couples are desiring to have more children than their current financial situation allows, their perspective on childbearing and child-rearing as life-enriching experiences is being overshadowed by cost-benefit analyses. In dual-income households struggling to make ends meet, the expenses associated with providing a decent education and private living spaces for additional children are significantly influencing their decision on whether or not to expand their family.

In the Japanese housing situation in which the prices of houses are overvalued, even compared with the annual income of a dual-earner young married couple being better off, a second baby or a third baby has been squeezed out of the plan of being conceived as a bane rather than a boon to those couples with a monthly installment on their housing loan to pay. When it came to how many times the household annual income a house-buyer had to pay in developed nations as of the year 2021, with 6.83 times, Japan ranked top as the nation where it was hard for young married couples with the average annual income to afford a new house suitable for their budget. Following Japan, Canada with 6.24 times, UK with 5.16 times and the US with 5.07 times. Compared with houses of the same price in the four nations, Japan’s house stood as the smallest one with the smallest scale of floor area.

Due to the increasing prices of condominiums in the metropolitan areas and the sluggish growth in the annual incomes of young married couples, their dream of living together with new family members as many as they wish has remained a fantasy. Condominium developers have been aiming to boost sales by featuring their condominiums with smaller floor space enough to live with two or three tenants to make the price hike less noticeable. For budget-minded condominium buyers, their best possible financial decisions are more likely to go to what doesn’t turn their dream into reality. According to Real Estate Economic Institute Co, the average price of a new condominium in the Tokyo metropolitan area reached 62.88 million yen in 2022, with a 0.4 % year-on-year increase, a record high for two years in a row. The average floor space in a new condominium was 66.1 square meters, down by 6 % from that ten years ago. The floor area of 65 square meters is designated by the government as being suitable for a household with spouses and one child aged three to five to make each member’s living comfortable. New owners of secondhand condominiums in the Tokyo metropolitan area closed the deal in 2022, standing shrinking their dream home to 63.59 square meters in the average floor space. A dual-income couple in their forties living in a secondhand condominium with the floor space of 55 square meters in Chuo Ward, Tokyo with their child says, " 20 million yen is too high to pay as the cost of an additional room for another child.”

Securing a spacious and affordable space isn't always a game-changer for young couples dreaming of marital bliss and family expansion. In fact, a 2021 survey revealed that only 20% of those couples cited limited living space as a barrier to having more children. The predominant concern is financial. The shadow of economic anxiety looms large, making them think twice before embracing the full spectrum of parental responsibilities required by modern standards. However, the joy of parenthood, seeing children as life’s most precious gifts, can be a powerful motivator. This realization may spur young couples to overcome financial hurdles, striving for a family life that's rich in satisfaction, both mentally and financially.