Risk of more price falls put us off buying

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Now they have decided to let their mortgage offer lapse and carry on renting. The spectre of negative equity was enough to convince them not to risk stepping onto the property ladder yet.

The couple, who both work in advertising, have been renting in London for eight years and currently pay £900 a month for a two-bed flat.

Mr Warriner, 29, said: "We have daily conversations about buying and we had a mortgage offer agreed for about £1,200 a month. But we've decided not to buy yet, mainly because of how volatile the market is. Raising a deposit is also an issue.

"Our monthly outgoings would be substantially increased if we bought and we'd have to make cutbacks and compromises. That makes us nervous and we're also concerned about ending up trapped in negative equity for years. It would take away our freedom. On a bad day I like the feeling that you can just take off."

Ms Pedersen, 26, said they would like to have their own place so they could decorate it to their taste but wanted to wait and see what happened to prices.