Kid-free families become norm

"Empty-nesters" and childless couples are overtaking traditional families of Mum, Dad and the kids as the postwar baby boom generation ages.

New projections issued by Statistics NZ yesterday forecast that the number of couples living alone without children will leap from 407,000 in 2001 to 623,000 by 2021, overtaking two-parent families with children next year.

Those two-parent families with children still at home will dwindle with the slowing birth rate from 446,000 to 427,000.

But sole-parent families will increase from 198,000 to 254,000, and single-person households will go up from 333,000 to 488,000.

The increases in both couples living alone and single-person households are being driven by the ageing baby boom generation, born in the 20 years after the end of World War II, when women had an average of 3.7 children each. Today the average woman has 2.01 children.

Couples such as Jan and Brian Parish, aged 53 and 60, are selling larger family homes and moving into smaller places - in their case two adjoining terrace houses in Grey Lynn, one for them and one for their two youngest sons, aged 21 and 18.

"We had a big four-bedroom family home with triple garaging, the whole works," Mrs Parish said.

But their two oldest children have moved out and have children of their own. Mr and Mrs Parish, who both sell real estate for Barfoot and Thompson in Ponsonby, have bought a block of five two-bedroom terrace houses and will pay the bills for their two youngest sons while they study.

"Eventually, when they have an income of their own, the idea is that they will foot some of their bills, or they will move out and we will rent [their apartment] out as part of our income when we retire," Mrs Parish said.

"It's a bit of an adjustment because it's obviously smaller and the standard of living is probably not as good as it was."

Real estate agents say not all empty-nesters are "downsizing".

"I don't think there is a trend to smaller homes," said Peter Knight, manager of L.J. Hooker's Mt Eden branch and himself an empty-nester who has just moved with his wife into a larger home.

"I think there might be a trend to lower-maintenance houses, particularly with a view or on the waterfront, that are easier to look after but not necessarily smaller."

But North Shore Harcourts agent Tony White said there was huge demand from older couples for smaller two- and three-bedroom houses on flat sections, while larger four- and five-bedroom family homes were hard to sell.

Statistics NZ is also projecting an increase in the number of couples who will never have children - "dinkies" - but dual incomes. But this increase is expected to be smaller than the growth of "empty-nesters" whose children have left home.

The projections are based on an increase in average life expectancy from 76.3 to 80.7 years for men, and from 81.1 to 84.8 years for women, in the 20 years to 2021.

NZ in 2021

Changes since 2001:

* Couples without children - 623,000 up 53 per cent

* Single-person households - 488,000 up 46 per cent

* Two-parent families - 427,000 down 4 per cent

* Sole-parent families - 254,000 up 28 per cent

* Non-family households - 102,000 up 15 per cent

www.stats.govt.nz