They're here. America's house repossession auctioneers

Get ready to throw those shoes, the most unpopular American export since George W Bush has hit our shores.

And according to The Guardian a couple of weeks ago, its then imminent arrival would spell the end of civilisation as we know it. That is if you call inflated house prices, gazumping and estate agents in Baby Bentleys civilisation.

The Real Estate Disposition Company, or REDC, has arrived in the UK and hopes to revolutionise the way we buy houses through the auction of knock-down repossessed properties. The action takes place over five days from March 31 to April 5 at a series of venues across the country.

Their bold advertising in the national press and on digital telly, as AuctionToday.co.uk has begun and earnest and those looking to move home are starting to sit up and take notice. REDC is handling the auction of more than 500 homes across Britain, with more than 130 in Manchester alone.

It would be hard not to notice the advertising because the advertising is RIGHT in your FACE. It's bold and loud, like the sort of adverts we are used to seeing selling sofas.

Some people have got themselves in a flap after scare stories from the States that REDC signs outside houses would have a knock-on effect on the price of other properties in the same street. It seems the absence of the gel-haired agent extolling the virtues of a rank three-bed semi with his eye on 3% commission is something we treasure. House auctions? Well, they're just not British. We have very few house auctions here, but in America and Australia, they are commonplace.