Liz Thompson, lettings director of Marsh and Parsons in Notting Hill, cites one client, a senior Barclays Bank executive, who sold his house in the area for £4 million and is now renting at £1,800 a week in the same locality. "Uncertainty in the sales market is persuading a lot of people to step outside the market and rent, while they do something else with their money," she says.

Today's Times weighs on in on that old perennial... is it really so stupid to rent? The piece cites historically low rents, the ghost profits associated with selling and trading up on a rising market, and comparisons between the housing market and other investments. It's a good read, and it's right here.

The truth about waiting [November 14]