Buyers are taking advantage of repossession `bargains at auction and using the quick access to cash from bridging loans to secure better deals from vendors.
The repossession crisis has spiralled, with many predicting that it will be worse than 1992. Research from AXA has said that as many as 1.8million buyers will be struggling to cover monthly repayments by the end of this year.
Chris Baguley, managing director of Bridging Finance Limited, said: "The number of properties put to auction is higher than predicted. Lenders are struggling to shift repossessed properties and are selling them for a reduced price at auction to regain their money as quickly as possible. Buyers are snapping up bargains at auction using a bridging loan and completing within weeks, which just isn't possible at the moment with many conventional mortgages.
"We are seeing an increased demand for our services from people buying not just a single property at auction but strings of properties, as they accumulate a bigger portfolio at bargain prices to cash in on the growing demand for rentals. The emphasis will shift from buying from estate agents to buying at auction houses. Buyers are ditching estate agents and heading for auction houses to hunt for better bargains, especially as the auction houses begin to revise their guide prices to reflect current market conditions."
