Broadly speaking, this is true but it can depend on timing. In the 1990s, property prices slumped for a long time and did not catch up with their 1991 values until 1997. Many experts predict that the UK is about to enter a similar period now.

Over the longer term, though, property prices have gone up by around 8 per cent a year since the Second World War. However, the value of companies on the stock market has gone up by about 11 per cent a year over the same period. Many financial advisors would argue that by investing your money in bricks and mortar instead of stocks and shares, you are actually losing the three per cent a year difference.

The arguments in favor of sell house and rent back find more support in continental Europe and the USA, where people do not have the same herd mentality about property ownership.

In the USA, generally considered a financially astute country, people prefer to rent during their working lives; it is cheaper and gives them more flexibility to move with changing job or family circumstances. The money they save is likely to be invested in the stock market, generating better returns on their investments. They will often buy a small property when they retire, generally somewhere sunny and warm.

Following the chain rarely pays, especially in financial affairs. And many wise counsel would advise people to sell property now and leave the house-buying chain behind.