A couple of weeks ago I had my offer accepted on a new flat, but then at the beginning of last week the estate agents rang to say that the people I was buying from had lost the house they wanted to buy. So how long do I hold on for before I start looking around again?

Start looking now, but leave your offer in place.

As above. Keep an eye on the market and if you see something better suited to what you need/time scales etc then go for it.

It all boils down to how much you want the flat you've offered on ❓

And how much the other guys want to sell. If they were really keen they could easily sort going in to rented until they find a place to buy. Sounds like they could keep you hanging on for months and months until they find their new dream place again.

I assume you're not in Scotland? If you are, you need to speak to your solicitor.

If you want the place tell them the offer stands for another week. if they really want to sell, they'll sell and find rented. you could always come back to it in a months time and make a slightly lower offer

Things are looking positive.

I spoke to my estate agents yesterday and said that I need to know if they are still committed to the sale, as there are other properties out there that I liked and I wouldn't want to miss out on those should this sale fall through. Also they liked my circumstances as I could move almost straight away (rental runs out on the 3rd of January) and likewise I liked that they were in the same situation, but as it stands it looks like I would have to find quite costly storage etc should they drag the sale on, implying why should I have to go into temporary accommodation and not them, as it's their sale that fell through.

The upshot of this conversation is that the sellers are looking at 2 places today, but would be willing to into rental accommodation should they not come to fruition.

Nice one, hope it all goes through for you.