A new study from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found people in open auctions were more likely to exceed their original budget and bid higher than what they thought the property was worth.

Head of the ESRI’s Behavioural Research Unit, Professor Pete Lunn, told Behind the Story they looked at several different bidding processes – including open and online auctions and sealed bids.

"It was really easy in the open auctions to get people to get people to bid more than they thought they should and go right up to their ceilings," he said.

"They would go beyond what they thought they ought to, and what they thought the house was worth.

"In the sealed bid auction, they bid significantly lower – so the two open auctions inflated the prices more."

Prof Lunn explained the thinking behind two behavioural patterns - loss aversion and ambiguity aversion – that makes people bid more than they think they should.

And he believes more could be done to reduce uncertainty for home buyers.

The research revealed many buyers in the housing market do not understand some of the terminology and this can add to the stress about buying a home.

Later, Professor of Politics at Keele University Dr Kathryn Simpson joined to discuss the latest fallout for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Two of his most senior aides – Morgan McSweeney and Tim Allan – have resigned in the last 48 hours over the handling of appointing Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to the US, despite his links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Dr Simpson said the next few hours and days are critical to Mr Starmer remaining as British Prime Minister.

"They key thing for Keir Starmer is to get the parliamentary Labour Party on-board – that is essentially his electorate," she said.

"A prime minister that doesn’t have the command of his parliamentary party is somebody who is exceptionally weak."

Dr Simpson said any Labour politician seen as a main challenger to Mr Starmer’s leadership are dealing with their own issues.

"Who would be the alternative to succeed Keir Starmer? That’s perhaps a strength that he has at the moment, despite the fact that this is a very volatile period for him," she added.

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