DESPITE some lingering feelings of unease and a general negativity infecting the country, there is a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of property investment, a leading Wales auctioneer says.

Paul Fosh, owner of Newport-based Paul Fosh Auctions, says he believes the tide is beginning to turn in the property business with buyers gaining confidence.

He says his optimism was highlighted in the most recent auction sale with some properties achieving very good prices.

Paul, from Monmouth and who was once again in the spotlight as the popular BBC programme Homes Under the Hammer was filming at the auction, said: “There was a good feeling in the room from the start, despite the heat, with the packed sale room getting off to a brisk start with some tremendous initial results.

“It was very positive from our point of view with some good results and prices achieved. There were some quite lively contests for a number of the lots which saw them achieving prices well above the reserve.

“Despite a negativity and uneasiness which appears to prevail generally I can sense a feeling of positivity in the auction business.

"Investors and buyers are more self-assured and less ‘flaky’ than they have been and want to get off the fence and get stuck in.

“In times of economic uncertainty such as we have been experiencing there is no better place in which to put your money than property.

“There appears to be cash available and buyers seem willing to spend on the right property. This was indicated for example with the sale of a dozen industrial units at the Crown Business Park, in Dukestown, Tredegar.

“The multi-tenanted property, ideally located with access to the A465 Heads of the Valleys trunk road, has a current rental income across the 12 units of some £105,736 per annum. Listed with a guide price of £600,000-plus, the dozen units sold for £700,000.

“Other lots and small plots and tracts of land also attracted keen interest. A mid terraced, two bedroom house in Mountain Ash sold for £41,500 after being listed with a guide price of £18,000-plus, so more than twice the guide, while an extended family home at Pontllanfraith, near Blackwood, with separate annexe, sold for £270,000 after being listed with a guide price of £245,000.”

Properties in Gwent sold well with the former Arosfa Day Care Centre in Blaina being sold for £91,000, which was more than twice its guide of £45,000.

A property with Boots the Chemist as tenant at Chepstow Road, Newport, sold for £87,500, substantially above the guide price of £65,000.

The Plasnewydd Hotel, Upper High Street, Bargoed, a mid-terraced former public house, listed with a guide price of £50,000, sold after spirited bidding, for £82,000.

The auction offered 84 lots of which 49 were sold generating £3,704,150. The next Paul Fosh Auctions sale is on Thursday, September 12, at the Cardiff North Hotel, Llanedeyrn, Cardiff starting at 5pm.