'We want to get at least 15 per cent below estate agent price'

Johanna Hooper and boyfriend James Bull are first-time buyers trying to find a bargain at auction.

Trainee midwife Miss Hooper and City banker Mr Bull, both 25, want to buy a two-bedroom house in Battersea which they can do up while they live with either of their parents in west London. They currently live in Clapham.

"I'm obsessed with getting a good deal," said Miss Hooper. "At the moment we're just looking but we're aiming to buy by June when our rental lease finishes. We're hoping to buy something for £350,000. My dad's acting as my guarantor because I'm still a student and we've got a £50,000 deposit between us.

"At the moment we're just looking but it seems auctions are the way forward. We want to buy at least 15 per cent below estate agent prices"

Her father Bruce, 48, said: "Every auction we come to there seems to be more people."