However you look at it, it's probably not a good time to buy right now. Can you afford to save? If so then renting is not such a bad option, and you're not fooling yourselves. The market may soon favour the buyers. I'd wait for this stormy period to settle before borrowing a lot of money.

Are kids not on the agenda because of time, space or money, or is it all three?

Hi Mmat, it seems that perhaps that you have identified the main issue yourself - it's not the house or where you live, it's the issue of children - it appears that you and your wife need to do some talking on the issue.

In my experience, the timing for children is rarely 100% right.  And even if it is, there are few people that can fall pregnant at exactly the 'right' time.  The good thing is that babies take a long time to arrive and much can be done in that nine months to make other things right - housing, work etc.

Try and talk to your wife, find out what her concerns are about having children and perhaps explore with her what your options are as a couple.