Buy before you see the light at the end of the tunnel, or opt for a peerless, one-of-a-kind home, such as an immaculate Georgian rectory.

These are said to be two of the best ways to make money in property. Since the second route is open only to the few, many wannabe winners are opting for the first, hoping to snaffle the bargains produced by the downturn before the light appears at the end of the tunnel, signalling that recovery is arriving. This marks the moment when everyone else starts to pile into the market, propelling prices upwards.

This drive to acquire homes at chunky discounts has been filling auction rooms since last autumn. Many bidders are looking for an affordable first home but others want repossessed properties going for a song that they can rent out, places such as the Manchester flat, bought for £195,950 in 2006, which went under the hammer at £75,000 at one sale. REDC, the razzle-dazzle repo men from the US, will be offering more of the same in their British auctions.

For bargain hunters, this may sound great news, but they should ponder the human cost of REDC’s policy of accepting any price for a property, no matter how low. This risks adding to the debts of these homes’ former owners, for which they continue to be liable after the repossession.

The banks have a duty “to obtain the best price that might reasonably be paid” for repossessions, but should also be aware of the consequences for their own balance sheets and for the economy of REDC’s strategy. For it risks acting as a dampener on prices, just as they seem closer to stabilising. These concerns mean there is a certain irony in REDC’s choice of location: the ExCeL centre, where the G20 did a deal that aims to lift the world out of recession.