Fierce bidding drove up the cost of six garages in west London at a recent property auction - with the lock-ups fetching £700,000, some 10 times the guide price, reported The Guardian yesterday, following an interview with auctioneer, Andrew Binstock, the man who brought down the hammer on the garages.

Three of the garages, are currently let, bringing in an income of £2,760 a year, but the buyer is expected to knock them down and replace carparking with carpeting. Property prices in Hammersmith & Fulham, where the garages sit just off the Fulham Road, rose by almost 16% in the year to March, according to the Land Registry.

Andrew Binstock of Auction House London, said the price "was a surprise for everyone involved" adding that "the lack of planning permission made the garages a widely attractive proposition", with bidders seeing its value as anywhere between £100,000 and the eventual sale price.

Binstock said this was just one of several lots that sold for "crazy prices". On the same street as the garages, a house divided into two one-bedroom flats and one four-bedroom home went for almost £1m over its £975,000 guide price.

"The auction market is exceptional at the moment and no one can work out why," said Binstock. "There is a shortage of stock and people are looking for exciting opportunities in good areas."