Broody couples hoping to hear the pitter-patter of tiny feet are being forced to delay having a family as rising house prices make it impossible for them to afford a family home.
A shocking 57% of prospective families wait up to five years to have a baby because of housing costs, revealed homeless charity Shelter.
The research also showed that nearly a quarter of people aged 24 – 39 ‘strongly agreed’ that they were delaying having children due to a lack of affordable housing.
Christina Manning, 25, from Surrey was forced to move into her parents’ house only a year after getting married, part of the so-called ‘boomerang generation’.
She said: “Despite the fact we both have reasonably well-paid jobs, me and my husband are stuck with a choice between living with my parents or sharing with others in expensive rentals.
“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.”
To move out of her parents’ home, Christina and her husband are considering sharing a house with another couple, with no plans for a family on the horizon.
There are almost a hundred homeless families in Merton, out of 119 ‘homeless households’, according to Shelter’s statistics.
They also say that house prices in the borough have risen by 42% in the last three years – meanwhile rent has also increased by 22%.
South west London already boasts some of the highest property costs, recent calculations show it would cost £52,543 to buy enough space to ‘swing a cat’ in Wimbledon.
Shelter’s chief executive, Campbell Robb, said: “More and more young people are working hard and saving what they can, but still find themselves unable to afford a stable home to raise a family.
“Instead they face a lifetime of expensive renting and insecurity, unable to put down roots.”
It’s not just happy London couples who are suffering from the housing crisis, Shelter’s survey also revealed that 1 in 10 would like to leave their partner, but can’t afford to live alone.
Shelter launched a campaign calling on future governments to build more affordable housing, which has been backed by more than 13,000 people.
Mr Robb said: “The only way to give back hope to priced out generation is for politicians to make a real and lasting commitment to building the affordable homes we desperately need.”
Featured image courtesy of Images of Money and gabi menashe, with thanks
