Letters were piled up on the doormat; soot spilled from the hearth over the bare boards of both the sitting room and the hall of the empty, run-down, two-storey terraced house. The grungy kitchen led into an even shabbier bathroom, which had been added to the ground floor of the house in the 1960s, but with none of the style of the era.

Yet, despite its sad state, the property had much to recommend it: location, makeover potential — and price. Last August, spruced-up houses on this street in Hammersmith, West London, were changing hands for £700,000. This home’s auction guide price was £380,000, which was why a queue formed outside for the pre-sale viewing last Saturday morning. Older couples and just-marrieds filed through the house, pondering how to sort out the bathroom without losing a bedroom.

Looking at houses is one of the things that people weren’t supposed to be doing in the downturn, but they are starting to do so in ever greater numbers, disproving the pundits who predicted a near-universal real estate aversion. Food, likewise, is another area where many British are also behaving in an unexpected way, as highlighted by the 25 per cent profits rise at Domino’s Pizza. Rather than preparing lean cuisine with healthy raw ingredients, the British are indulging in more takeaways. But then acquiring a property at auction has something in common with fast food. You see it, you want it, you bid for it in a transaction that should be simpler and swifter than the normal, often protracted, property purchase process, a recipe for stress (see below).

As we report on page 7, the Hammersmith house sold — within minutes — for £425,000 at Savills’s residential auction on Monday, a price that provides yet another reason for the growing popularity of buying this way.

Agents say that, particularly in London and the South East, people with lots of cash in deposit accounts or equity in their existing homes are becoming more prepared to buy, as long as the price is right — which is around 25 per cent off its peak.

The sum for which the Hammersmith property went under the hammer represents a more substantial discount on the prices achieved in the boom, even taking into account the extensive modernisation work that will be required. But today’s auction prices also reflect the likelihood of further housing market decline.

In yet another example of how the British are defying forecasts, the possibility of market decline does not seem to be deterring some buyers shopping for property through estate agencies. These investors — who tend to have experience of previous slumps — profess themselves happy if they can return to a market that is within 10 per cent of its lowest point. They sense that this moment could be close. But they may not be able to test out this theory as, in some areas, there is little for sale. Hamptons, a nationwide estate agency, says that supply has dropped away. The average number of applicants per property is now more than ten to one, the highest since January 2007.

This statistic and the other evidence for the burgeoning interest in property does not indicate that recovery is arriving sooner than forecast. But it does show that property remains a favourite British comfort food — for those who can afford it.

Raising your interest

Some thrill to kitchens equipped with the latest in Bulthaup and others to bathrooms with bespoke limestone baths. But we know that, when it comes to interior images, many readers like nothing better than an elegant staircase. Something to do with dreams of making a grand entrance? Whatever the reason, we know that they will appreciate the picture, left, of a cantilevered stone staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade. It connects the five floors of a Georgian £3.5 million house in London’s Fitzrovia, on sale through Knight Frank.

Fitzrovia, the area between Oxford Street and Euston Road, bordered by Gower Street, Portland Place and Tottenham Court Road, bristles with history and bars and is just bohemian enough. The spirit of the authors who made their home in the neighbourhood — from George Orwell to D.H. Lawrence — offer the opportunity to picture yourself descending the staircase saying something terribly witty.

Base conduct

The suspicion that banks are being tardy in passing on the benefits of bailout cash and base rate reductions to homebuyers is confirmed by the latest figures from Moneyfacts. Following this month’s base rate cut of 0.5 per cent, the average standard variable rate mortgage is down by just 0.16 per cent from 4.99 per cent to 4.83 per cent. The base rate is set to be trimmed again next month, but mortgage rates are likely once more to be largely unaffected. If Alistair Darling is not aware of the resentment that this is causing among those would-be buyers who need to borrow more than 80 per cent of the value of a property, then he should be.

Explore Property

• Buying & Selling

• New Homes

• Overseas

• Interiors

• Investment

• Gardens

• Cool In Your Code

• Specials

• First-time buyer

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers