One in four people aged in their mid-20s to late-30s say high housing costs are preventing them from starting a family, according to a report by Shelter.
Research by the housing and homelessness charity, which questioned nearly 4,500 adults, claims “sky high” rates are forcing people to put their lives on hold.
Twenty-four per cent of those aged between 24 and 39 said they feel forced to wait when it comes to planning a family, with 57 per cent of prospective parents delaying so by up to five years.
Fourteen per cent of those asked also said they were thinking about moving back in with their parents in order to fund a mortgage deposit.
The charity highlighted the case of a woman from London named Christina who was forced to move, along with her husband, back home to her parents, a year after getting married.
Christina said: “In our situation the idea of having children seems little more than a pipe dream.
“It feels almost laughable that we’ll ever own our own family home but the only alternative is bringing up kids in unstable rented properties, which we’d rather not do unless we absolutely have to”.
Recent research from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) found that the number of people getting onto the property ladder last year was the highest seen since 2007.
It is thought schemes such as Help to Buy, mean that fewer people are needing to rely on the “bank of mum and dad” to help raise a mortgage deposit.
Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said: “The only way to give back hope to the priced out generation is for politicians to make a real and lasting commitment to building the affordable homes we desperately need.”
It comes as a separate report from the National Housing Federation (NHF) found that 15 per cent of 18 to 34 year-olds are considering putting marriage and or related plans on the back burner due to high housing costs.
The NHF’s research, which looked at around 2,300 people, also found that one in 25 are considering taking part in paid medical research in order to raise a deposit.
David Orr, NHF chief executive, said: “We simply cannot afford to ignore the concerns of younger people and just accept the fact that they will be considerably worse off than previous generations.
“This shouldn’t be the case.”
