Thousands bid at foreclosure auction
By David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer 10/6/08
Jeffrey J. Johnston, a bidder's assistant, works with a potential buyer Sunday at a Real Estate Disposition Corp. (REDC) home foreclosure auction at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Northwest Washington, D.C. — Emily J. Reynolds/ For The Examiner More than 450 foreclosed properties located in the D.C. area were auctioned this weekend at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
An estimated 4,500 people on Saturday and Sunday attended the sell-off run by Irvine, Ca.-based real estate auctioneer and broker Real Estate Disposition Corp.
REDC President Jim Corum said auctions were a good way to attempt to assuage the county’s housing crisis.
“I think it helps immensely,” he said. “It’s one of the easiest ways to sell real estate.”
Properties were sold at prices tens of thousands — often hundreds of thousands — of dollars below previously valued prices, which are based on the higher of the appraised value of the property in connection with the most recent mortgage on the property, the most recent asking price, the assessed value or the most recent broker price opinion, according to REDC’s Web site.
“What we try to do is get people back in these homes. These communities need to have people in these homes,” Corum said.
He noted there were some realty representatives at the auction representing individual buyers, as well as some investors, but added, “Our auctions draw a large amount of end-users — people who will be living in the home.”
Bob Grimes, of Alexandria, who was looking for properties near the shore, said the foreclosure crisis had had great repercussions in the Prince William housing market. His 3300-square-foot property remained on the market for about a year and a half before finally being sold for $400,000, he said.
“Prince William County really got hit … hard,” he said. “There’s just no buyers out there.”
Prince William properties had a significant representation at the auction, with 44 properties from Woodbridge alone slated to be auctioned Sunday.
Saturday marked Grimes’ first foreclosure auction, and Corum estimated that was true for about 80 percent of people who attend the company’s auctions.
RealtyTrac, which tracks monthly foreclosures across the country, recently reported that, in August, over 300,000 homes nationwide were foreclosed upon. Prince William had the highest foreclosure rate in Virginia in August, with 1,366 foreclosure properties reported, or 1 in every 95 housing units.
3 Comments
Reader Comments:
POSTED Oct 6, 2008
Examiner Reader: "These things often sound better than they really are. I wish they would have interviewed ONE PERSON who actually bought at auction. This is a press release summary, at best."POSTED Oct 6, 2008
Capone: "PW county again ? What about Fairfax, Loudoun and all the country? Your house was overpriced to begin with This is why the 35% to 40% is still very overvalued ! There is more to come"POSTED Oct 6, 2008
HardCore: "I've seen homes sell at auction what they were price listed on the MLS. Here's what happen to me: An 'investor' won an auction away from me Nov 07, he paid $363k, bumped the price in Nov. 07 to $430k, with no interest so he started lowering the price every 5 weeks, and it didn't sell until late Aug. 08 for $383k. What was so funny was he listed the price to $374k a week before it sold and the new owner never knew. Point blank---Auction sucks because we are still dealing with investors who are still flipping homes but for smaller gains and you can't get a good deal on a auction home that way. They have the nerve to say the "market is changing and people are buying". Don't fall for it. Wait, if you can, until next summer and that might make the difference between buying a 'nice' home or getting one of those mini-McMansion that are starting to pop up."