I lost £20,000 selling house at wrong time

Banker Yuen-Wei Chew sold his flat in the Barbican last year when he felt property prices had reached their peak and were about to tumble.

He decided to rent there instead and wait for prices to stabilise before buying again - but he has seen them continue to rise, and admits his flat is now worth £20,000 more than he sold it for.

Mr Chew, 38, bought the one-bedroom flat in the Barbican in 1999 for £155,000.

He spent £112,000 remodelling and refurbishing it. Last year he accepted an offer of £320,000. He said: "It seemed an opportune moment to sell. Timing is very difficult, almost impossible, and you're never quite going to win. You do get this dreadful sinking feeling as you watch prices rise and I guess I could have got £20,000 more for the flat."

Despite his loss, Mr Chew is prepared to rent for longer. "I think the property prices at the moment are absolutely mad and so I am going to rent for another year and see what happens," he said.