I remember getting burned by this a bit over 20 years ago trying to get on the housing ladder. At the time, the going rate for property where I was looking was

I remember getting burned by this a bit over 20 years ago trying to get on the housing ladder. At the time, the going rate for property where I was looking was around £80k, but I'd seen one wreck go for £60k and I was waiting around trying to get another for that kind of price. Unfortunately for me, I never did find that bargain, and that year saw massive property price rises, and in the end I had to pay £120k for a house that was the same as those that had been selling for £80k a year earlier. My guess is that most of the bargains were bought by people who knew how to flip properties, as a lot of the properties were a very high standard around then. Just to rub it in, after a 50% rise in a year, the prices were then pretty stagnant for the next 12-13 years. At a guess, its value has approximately doubled in the decade since the stagnant period.