Landlords 'pick up bargains at auctions'

While some first-time buyers may look to purchase residential property at auction, the majority of buyers at these events are still landlords looking to expand their portfolios cheaply.

That's the opinion of James Cannon, head of property auctions at Savills. Mr Cannon explained that most buyers at property actions were established buy-to-let landlords who knew what they were doing.

"Predominantly ... the market is about buy-to-let. There's a lot of demand still, and the market is still out there," he added.

Mr Cannon said that many of the properties for sale at auction would "need some refurbishment," which tended to both put off first-time buyers and encourage landlords looking to develop.

"Most of [the houses] will be second-hand properties, so therefore they'll need some work doing on them. We don't find that generally causes a problem," he pointed out.

Mr Cannon concluded by saying that landlords often found that the residential letting market was more complex that commercial rentals.

"With residential, obviously the landlord has the problem of managing the property and looking after it," he concluded.