The huge salary required for Australians to buy a home – is it any wonder why our birth rate is falling?

New research shows a couple needs a combined income of more than $200,000 to be able to have a child and live comfortably as a renter in Greater Sydney or Greater Brisbane.

New data from the National Shelter shows how flawed the current rental system is as it tracks different Australians at different stages of life and their rental needs.

The problem is this: Even a wealthy couple with a child with a combined income of $219,000 still finds rent less affordable in the wake of the pandemic.

Greater Sydney requires this family to spend just 18 per cent of their income on rent, leaving a reasonable amount for other living and child-rearing costs, although this becomes cheaper if they move to outer suburbs.

The problem is only worse for low-income or lonely people.

National Shelter spokesman John Engeler said tenants across the country were under severe pressure as rent growth continued to outpace income growth amid historically low vacancy rates.

“The situation is particularly serious for low-income renters, who are increasingly forced to rent privately due to the declining availability of social and affordable housing,” Mr Engeler said.

“A single retiree would have to spend 86 per cent of their income to rent the average one-bedroom apartment in Sydney.”

Mr Engeler said this was “clearly unacceptable” and called on the Government to help solve the affordability crisis through social housing.

Over the past 12 months, rental affordability has fallen by 13 per cent in Perth, eight per cent in Adelaide, six per cent in Melbourne, five per cent in Sydney and four per cent in Brisbane.

Perth is currently the least affordable capital city, with an average weekly rent of $629, which is 31 per cent of median income. It is followed by Sydney, where the average rent of $720 is 30 per cent of median income.

According to the report, 30 percent of income is the limit before rent becomes unaffordable.

Separate data from the PropTrack rental affordability report found that “rental affordability in Australia is at its worst level on record”, with households with a median income of $111,000 able to afford to rent only the smallest proportion of properties since 2008 records.

The rental crisis is becoming a national problem.

The impact of unaffordable rents could become a national problem as higher costs, including rent, affect the number of children families choose to have.

Australia’s falling birth rate could have serious consequences for family dynamics and lead to middle children becoming increasingly rare.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics at the end of October showed the total fertility rate in 2023 fell to a record low of 1.5 children per woman.

Demographer Dr Liz Allen, a lecturer at the Australian National University, says the days of the average child are over as couples having one or two children become the new norm.

She said this is because it is becoming increasingly difficult for couples to achieve financial success.

“Even rent has become unaffordable in some areas, and Allens says job insecurity has also become an issue, with many young people and women forced into casual or part-time work,” she said.

The decline in fertility can be attributed to the rising cost of living and the current economic climate, as it could impact young Australians’ ability to have children, KPMG says.

Data showed that the birth rate nationwide fell 4.6 percent over the past year, meaning the 2023 birth rate will be the lowest since 2006.

In 2023, 289,100 babies were born in Australia.

KPMG urban economist Terry Rawnsley explains that weak economic growth often leads to lower birth rates, but current pressures on the cost of living are having a particularly strong impact.

“Fertility rates provide insight into long-term population growth as well as the current confidence of Australian families,” he said.

The most noticeable decline occurred in Sydney, with the birth rate falling by 8.6 percent. It was followed by Melbourne, down 7.3 percent, Perth, down 6.0 percent, and Brisbane, down 4.3 percent.

Canberra is the only capital city to have not seen a decline in its birth rate since 2019.

This growth has now declined rapidly as the current economic climate poses various challenges for Australian families.

“With current rising living costs putting pressure on family finances, many Australians have decided to delay starting or expanding their families,” Rawnsley said.

“This combination of the pandemic and rapid economic change explains the surge and subsequent sharp decline in birth rates that we have seen over the past four years.”