How to buy a house for HALF price. I went to a property auction where super-savvy buyers are making a killing - and here's how YOU can do it too, reveals TOBY WALNE

The auction room goes quiet in suspense as the auctioneer raises the gavel above the block with a theatrical flourish. Properties sold this way are substantially cheaper than on the open market, at £166,000 on average, according to publication Property Auction News. Buyers Oscar Ryan and Adam Roubicek have bagged themselves a one-bedroom flat in London for £265,000 at an auction Hampstead flat worth: £300,000 and sold at auction for £265,000 David Sandeman, founder of EIG Property Auctions, says: 'Auction houses can be brilliant places to pick up a great value property – just as long as you know what you are doing.' Manchester flat worth: £200,000 and sold at auction for £170,000 Phillip Arnold, who runs Phillip Arnold Auctions in Ealing, west London, says: 'It amazes me how people are often happy to spend at least half a million on a house, but not a few hundred pounds on getting the property properly looked at – ideally not only checked out by a local builder but also with you paying perhaps £400 for a basic survey to be done.' A spokesperson for mortgage provider Nationwide Building Society says: 'It should be no more difficult to get an agreement in principle than getting a standard mortgage – although if details later come out, such as survey showing the property is on a flood plain, it could change the offer.