Properties offering guaranteed yields proved particularly popular with investors at Cheffins’ first auction of 2017 in Cambridge.

Almost £4.2m worth of property was sold at the firm’s most recent sale, which saw more than 200 buyers in attendance.

The maximum prices paid were for commercial properties with solid investment incomes throughout the Eastern region.

The star lot of the day was a freehold mixed-use building in Biggleswade which achieved just over £1m against a guide of £900,000, making it the record hammer price ever recorded at a Cheffins property auction. Generating an annual income of £50,000 from established tenants, the property saw competitive bidding within the room, eventually selling to a local investor.

Similarly, a mixed-use building on Ramsey High Street in Cambridgeshire sold for £208,000 against a guide price of £140,000. The property also offered a solid investment and currently generates an annual rent of £19,500.

Over £1m-worth of land was sold in total across 12 lots.

Ian Kitson, director at Cheffins, said: “Investment properties offering guaranteed yields really set the room alight in our first sale of the year.

“With competitive bidding from both local and national buyers, the record price made at Biggleswade goes to show how auction really is the best forum to generate the most interest for these popular mixed-use properties.

“With guaranteed rental incomes, the investment properties within the sale were snapped up by local buyers who bid against investors from all over the UK. This is reflective of the increasing desirability of the region’s smaller towns which are seeing investment throughout both commercial and residential properties, especially as returns on wider investment types remain fragile.

“As prices are continuing to rise across all property types in the region, we are expecting to see ongoing inward investment with mixed-use offerings continue to sell at premium prices.”