Although prices soared in many coastal addresses in the boom there's a wide choice of potential homes going under the hammer at this month's auctions.

Guide prices suggest this sector may have come down to earth with a bump.

Clive Emson has five sales across southern England next week starting at the County Showground at Detling, near Maidstone, on Monday, July 25.

The sale contains several unusual lots, suggesting some investors have decided to exit bricks and mortar on the assumption that an early recovery in the market is unlikely.

The guide is only £70,00-£75,000, for instance, on a Grade II listed former Methodist chapel in Barham, near Canterbury, with a residential conversion likely to be acceptable for planners.

With a gallery balcony, this building is a real challenge for interior designers.

The same agent has slapped a £40,000 guide on a one-bedroom flat in Warrior Garden, St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, while a three-storey terrace house in Deal guided at £130,000-£135,000, could appeal to buyers keen to downsize in a fashionable corner of coastal Kent.

The auction starts at 11am. More details on 0845 850 0333 or www.cliveemson.co.uk