Fortune favours the brave (January 28, 2008)

• Miles Brignall, Tony Levene and Rupert Jones
• The Guardian,
• Saturday January 26 2008

• Although they would never admit it, all this talk of a possible recession is bound to have left some property auctioneers rubbing their hands with glee.

  Many of the properties sold at auctions are homes that have been repossessed from the financially-stretched by their mortgage company.

  During the good times, it is easy to sell repossessed homes without resort to auction. But when things start to look less rosy, the auctions tend to be at their busiest. There's already evidence that some first-time buyers have been stalking the auction rooms in search of a bargain. If we get a major downturn, expect to see more sales, and undoubtedly, more bargains.

  Mark Tanton, managing director of Countywide Property Auctions, says his company expects to sell in excess of 1,000 properties this year at its sales.

  "While I don't think we are anywhere near a recession, it's certainly true to say that a big downturn in the property market results in more houses going through the auction houses. I was around in 1992 during the last big slump, and there was certainly a big jump in business as repossessions shot up." He says properties tend to divide into buy-to-lets, and standard homes, in which the owner got into difficulties.

  Next month, rival agent Barnard Marcus is selling 265 UK properties - many on behalf of mortgage firms.

  Expect a lot of two-bed flats - many being sold for substantially less than the unfortunate buyer would have paid as recently as 12 months ago.

  Away from the auctions, a downturn generally spells good news for would-be first-time buyers, with cheaper properties and more bargaining power.

Click here to return to the News page