Mike Portillo cannot stop smiling. The 30-year-old telecoms manager is standing in front of a large, imposing house in Palmdale, a city in the Antelope Valley about an hour north of Los Angeles. “I think we’re going to make an offer on this one,” he says, looking at his wife, Jessica, who nods in agreement. “We really like it.”

The house is one of many under foreclosure in Anaverde, an upscale development that was abandoned by its main builder last year with only 25 per cent of the scheme completed.