I think that assuming you are a first time buyer or have sold your house, plus you can get a mortgage, then now is a good time to buy.

According to all the experts now is a buyers market. Some of my friends are estate agents and they've told me that loads of first time buyers are being cheeky and making offers below asking price - because they can. When I got my place last year we had to agree to the asking price because so many other people were interested, but when times are slow and sellers want to sell they will take less money.

But it seems your real question is not whether now is a good time to buy, but is it a good time to sell? It seems to be a hard time to sell, and personally I would suggest that if possible you stay put for a while. Obviously there is a risk of falling house prices, but I think they are more likely to remain unchanged, plus living in London does protect you - this city isn't going to get less crowded anytime soon!

later in the year, when people are more confident, mortgage lenders are lending again etc, then I think more people will look to buy and your pulling potential will go from Anne Widdecombe to Yvette Cooper!

Have you thought about renting out your place and using the money from your girlfriend's plus the rent to buy a joint pad? A friend of mine has done this with her boyfriend and it has worked out well.

I imagine the renting market is good at the moment? Any landlords out there know differently?

My friend's daughter is also looking for somwhere to rent in London after a stint travelling and she thinks prices have gone up a lot in the last year. The fact is that the closer to the tube/train you want to be the more you will have to pay. Same goes for being in central or trendy west london.

One suggestion to find a nice area to live in and a decent property without having to pay a lot of rent is to opt for an area that isn't on the tube... for example, said friend's daughter used to live in central Hackney (Mare street) which is really well connected to buses, does have a train line to liverpool street and is nice. Or she also knows people who lived in Stoke Newington, which is really trendy and nice but not as expensive as, say, Angel. The buses go to the City, Oxford Street, Victoria etc.

Good luck!