ABOUT one in three Australians are considering delaying plans to start or grow a family as the cost of entering the property market rises.

A PRDnationwide survey of 2000 Australians found 34 per cent of respondents were considering delaying having children as house prices increase.

PRDnationwide research director Aaron Maskrey says a significant number of couples are postponing starting families because they want to buy their own homes first.

"The long-term trend has seen prices for houses rising, however the recent softening of values in many areas are likely to tempt many potential purchasers into home ownership as these conditions will not hold in the long term," he says.

"It is changing important life decisions, such as when to start a family."

The latest REIA Housing Affordability Report shows it now costs an average Australian family about 35.3 per cent of their income to service the home loan.

This is up from 34.8 per cent in September 2010, but still down from the previous year by 4.6 per cent.

More than half (55 per cent) of respondents would not let the state of the property market prevent them from starting a family.

Maskrey says the remaining 10 per cent of respondents said the research was not applicable to their situation.

Last week the Reserve Bank of Australia left the cash rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent, as expected, and the post-meeting statement was almost identical to last month's.