The Molyneux family thought they had been smart by selling a London home at Christmas, but completing in July, so they could house-hunt in Winchester: six months on, they still can’t find anything.

In southern England, the market – especially for £500,000-plus homes – has been plagued by a shortage of supply, and their predicament is common. “We’d started looking for a five- or six-bed house for £1.1m or £1.2m,” says Emma Molyneux, 39, a lawyer turned aromatherapist. “But for the first three months, there was nothing to see. After Easter, a few properties came on, but with so many buyers, homes at £1.1m routinely sold for £1.3m after competitive bids. We now look at houses £200,000 below our budget to have a chance of affording one.” She, her husband, Brent, 38, a barrister, and Maisie, 5, Guy, 4, and Georgie, 2, have made regular house-hunting trips. Maisie and Guy start school in Winchester in September, so the family must rent there, at £3,000 a month.

“There’s probably been the usual number of homes on sale, but there’s been a significantly greater number of buyers for properties priced at £600,000 and above,” says Steven Moore, of the Winchester office of the estate agent Lane Fox. “City bonuses started it earlier this year. I can’t see thingschanging for months, perhaps into next year.”

“We’ve compromised on almost every aspect of our future home,” says Emma. “This has been a nightmare, and we want it to end – soon.”

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