Christian Real Estate Blog

Married Couples Now in the Minority of U.S. Homes

I found this New York Times article compliments of The Real Estate Bloggers. According to recent census data, in 2005, married couples living together under one roof were eclipsed by non-married couples.

Here is an excerpt from the NYT article:

"The American Community Survey, released this month by the Census Bureau, found that 49.7 percent, or 55.2 million, of the nation’s 111.1 million households in 2005 were made up of married couples — with and without children — just shy of a majority and down from more than 52 percent five years earlier.

'It’s the legacy of the boomers that have finally caused this tipping point,' Dr. Frey said. 'Certainly later generations have followed in boomer footsteps, with high levels of living together before marriage, and more flexible lifestyles. But the boomers were the trailblazers, once again, rebelling against a norm their parents epitomized.

'This would seem to close the book on the Ozzie and Harriet era that characterized much of the last century,' he said."

While the Real Estate Bloggers focused more on the advantages of being able to target market to non-married couples. I'm more concerned about the moral fabric of our society. I was shocked when I read this article... it just goes to show where the average American home is headed in the 21st century: away from commitment in relationships. Marriage definitely has it's benefits... aside from the obvious companionship and all the other wonderful things that God intended it to be.

Now how does this relate to our real estate blog you might ask? Well, I definitely agree that it is important to know the demographic of an area to be able to market efficiently. Services like Neighboroo.com are a step in the right direction. But more importantly, I think we need to know the needs of our clients, and data like this can be very useful.

I was just personally saddened by these statistics... I believe that it shows a trend in our country that is moving in the wrongdirection.

posted by Justin Smith @ 10/20/2006 10:13:00 AM