Not really an answer, just a comment.
Until last year, we lived in a 2 bed flat, no garden. When we first bought it we had an 8mo. Last year we had a 3yo, 1yo and I was 9 months pregnant with another. There was no WAY we could all fit in the flat. It was a reasonable size, not at all poky, but two adults and two children was really pushing it, plus the kids couldn't leave their toys out, DH and I were constantly bickering as a result of being on top of each other, you get the picture. On mat leave with DD2 I used to walk the two hours into town each day (2 hours there, 2 hours back)just to get out of the house.
Then we sold our house (mortgage was stretching us stupidly for not enough room) and we rent a 3 bed house (on a farm, funnily enough!) Kids have loads of space inside, DH and I aren't cooped up, our marriage is sooo much better and our gardenn is 250 acres of land. We don't own it, and I wish we did. But the houses we can afford are either tiny, puttting us back to square 1, or dire. It's too expensive to buy; and I'm not talking about money.
Give me my children's happiness and my marriage before that. Oh, and our quality of living is 100 time sbetter ont he farm than it was in the flat. And it's FABULOUS for the kids.
I had soo many people telling us we were foollish in selling. I can quite honetly say I have no regrets at all. And buying what we can't afford is how the country got into this mess.