Top clients often call upon us to give a comprehensive service, going well beyond the buying and selling of London homes. Last week I wrote of our jaunts across Europe and the UK countryside but this past week has been occupied with a surge in rental requests.

Many of the calls have been from clients who have recently sold. They think the market is due for a crash – or “correction” as analysts like to say – and rather than paying the required £2,000 per sq ft for a decent family house they are willing to rent for a year and wait for prices to fall. I am sceptical about such moves since London’s top-end market is largely fuelled by foreigners, especially those living as non-domicile tax residents. But I have to do as I am told.