Two properties in Colchester are set to go under the hammer in the coming weeks, a modest but telling data point in what has become an increasingly active regional auction circuit across the East of England. While the individual lots may not command headline valuations, their appearance on the auction schedule reflects a broader trend that professional investors would do well to note: secondary UK towns with strong transport links to London are once again attracting serious capital, particularly from buy-to-let landlords and small developers priced out of the capital's saturated market.