As the nation's property market has cooled, Hometrack has reported the return of a buyers' market, with sales currently being made at 94.3% of the asking price. Waiting for a buyers market is a good way to make your money stretch further but an increasingly popular way of saving money on investment properties is by buying at auction.

According to the Sunday Times, “90% of cheap property is sold at auctions” and at every auction are investors ready to modernise in the hope of a quick profit. Due to the popularity of purchasing investment properties at auction there are now range of companies that keep up to date with the latest auctions and who will provide you with listings for a small subscription fee. One of these services is run by IPDS whose website, auctionpropertyforsale.co.uk, also contains useful information about the whole auction process. If you are keen to buy at auction you will find other agents and listings sites through the website, LandlordZone.co.uk.

Another way to buy investment properties with savings on the purchase price is to buy off plan. Many developers throughout the UK will offer significant discounts to those who agree to purchase before the build is complete. At the moment many discounts can be found on investment properties in Manchester, which has been undergoing a period of regeneration. On the website BuyProperty4Less.com you'll find several examples, including The Cube and The Mews developments both due for completion in autumn 2008. These developments contain investment properties from £116,450 to £152,150, with a 15% discount for purchasers who will buy off plan. Also in Manchester, the Ellesmere Property Group is offering 17% discounts on apartments in the Ingenta development where there are 30 properties for sale with gross prices starting at £181,260.

The website off-plan.co.uk is currently marketing a range of investment properties with off-plan discounts of 15%. These include Victoria Court in Wigan, a development of ten luxury two-bedroom apartments priced at £125,000 before discount. Three luxury apartments in West Cliff Apartments in Preston city centre at £210,000 before discount. And a choice of 13 one or two-bedroom flats in Worsley, Manchester from £135,000 before discount. This website is also offering the opportunity to buy a piece of television history! Brookside Close is now up for sale in West Derby, Liverpool (but there are no discounts on those properties).

To make your investment properties a success, buy in an up-and-coming area where property prices are often lower and are forecast to rise more than the national average. At the moment, property forecasters are focusing on Scotland where prices are almost one-third less than the national average. Scotland is currently enjoying economic prosperity due to the oil industry and is attracting much investment.

In Aberdeen, a good buy-to-let prospect with international transport links and a popular university, the agent Gavin Bain & Co holds a wide range of properties ranging in price from £68,500 to £450,000. In Dundee, Your Move is currently marketing a three-bedroom flat in a converted mill building for £137,950 while the company Construction and Property Marketing currently holds brand-new apartments at Discovery Wharf from £161,000.

Topping many current lists as being the area most likely to experience the greatest price increases over the coming year, Scotland is looking like a good place to invest. If you are buying to let, the university regions of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Stirling have obvious attraction. Whether you are looking for investment properties to renovate or buy into a brand-new development there is much to be found.

Interested in investing in buying property? Look for great opportunities at http://www.buyproperty4less.com/