Nightmare on Mortgage Street: The Haunting Cost of Child Care and Home Buying

It always starts the same way:

A cozy new house; a young couple, maybe with a toddler or two in tow, finally scoring their dream home—complete with a Pinterest-worthy porch and neighbors who wave but never really say hello.

The sun sets. The porch light flickers on. And then ... they call the babysitter.

But in this version of the story, the true horror isn't coming from the basement or an anonymous phone call from inside the house. It comes from the invoice on the kitchen counter—because today's rising child care costs are enough to make even the most seasoned homeowner scream.

In this post, we'll take a look at how the classic American dream of owning a home and raising a family is being haunted by a very real and growing nightmare: the price of child care. Whether it's buying a starter home or upgrading for a growing family, the high cost of child care is making it harder for families to find a stable footing. For first-time buyers especially, this means smaller budgets, delayed purchases, or being priced out of homeownership entirely. In the growing list of affordability challenges, child care isn't just a side plot; it's a main villain.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, families across the country spent between 8.9% and 16% of their median income on full-day child care for just one child in 2022. Rising child care expenses continue to strain family budgets, which may help explain the historic decline in the share of home buyers with kids under 18 recorded in 2024. In 2024, NAR's Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers recorded a historic low in the share of home buyers with kids under the age of 18, at 27%.

When it comes to home buyers with kids, married couples clearly lead the way, making up 75% of this group overall. This trend holds steady among first-time (70%) and repeat buyers (78%). However, beyond the expected dominance of married couples, there are some noteworthy patterns: single female buyers represent a significant share at 12% overall and 14% among first-time buyers, outpacing both unmarried couples (10%) and single male buyers (just 4%) in first-time home buyers with kids. These figures suggest that while traditional family structures remain the norm in this segment, a growing number of both single and non-traditional households are entering homeownership.

For many families with children, the path to homeownership is constrained by the competing demands of everyday expenses and long-term financial goals. Nineteen percent of home buyers with kids shared that saving for a down payment was the most difficult task of the homebuying process—an obstacle that becomes even more pronounced among first-time buyers, where over one-third (34%) said it was their biggest challenge. Twenty-nine percent of home buyers with kids said that child care expenses prevented them from saving for a down payment, illustrating how the high price of care cuts into the same funds that could otherwise go toward homeownership. Moreover, home buyers with kids were more likely than home buyers without kids to say that their credit card debt was delaying their saving for a home (42% and 34% respectively), pointing to the financial strain of raising children in an inflationary environment where managing daily expenses may come at the expense of future financial milestones.

As the end credits roll on our horror story, it's clear that the real monsters aren't hiding in the shadows … they're sitting quietly on monthly statements. For families with children, the rising cost of child care continues to creep into every corner of the homebuying process, draining savings and delaying dreams. Yet even in this haunted housing market, families press on by sharing space, combining incomes, and finding creative ways to keep the lights on, proving that the pursuit of homeownership, even when haunted by costs, remains one of the most resilient stories in the American dream.