Marie Calligaris always thought her first property would be a flat, then she would gradually climb the property ladder. The trainee clinical scientist, 27, has just had an offer accepted on her first home with her partner, however, and it’s a four-bedroom house in Haslemere, Surrey. Calligaris had been renting for several years in Brighton and her partner had been renting in London, where he works. Both had terrible landlords and endless problems. They decided it was time to buy, and moved in...

Shane Gibson is biding his time. The project manager, 55, sold his four-bedroom semi-detached home in Southgate, north London, in June 2022 for £1.5 million and moved into a rental house with his wife and two children. He’s looking for another fixer-upper in the area, but doesn’t want to pay more than £1 million. His chances look good. House prices in the UK fell for the sixth month in a row in September, according to Halifax, down to an average £292,000 — 4.7 per cent lower than this time...