What Auction Bargains?

[flashl]

I sat in on a cattle auction in Kansas City once, and I've attended an antiques auction on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Except for the scent of manure or Chanel No. 5 at those events, neither was substantially different from last weekend's foreclosure auction at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

Auction "assistants," ostensibly there to help people bid, wore tuxedos, bow ties and black Air Jordans. Arms flailing and voices whooping, they whipped up the crowd much the same as the cowboys cracking whips stirred up excitement in Kansas City. The auctioneer prattled on like Porky Pig calling the Kentucky Derby.

Given the bulging inventory of foreclosed properties that banks need to unload, an auction seems like an efficient, fair way to move the goods fast. And a rational buyer, cash in pocket and ready to commit to a no-contingencies sales contract on the spot, would only sit through such hoopla because he expects a bargain. But what I saw at the foreclosure auction left me skeptical about the availability of auction bargains. Sellers, the banks that own the foreclosures, seem to be unduly optimistic about the prices they can get for foreclosures, which are, after all, damaged goods.

...

Lenders seem to be in denial, but they are not in a position to hold out for higher prices. They're reluctant deal-makers, whether it's on foreclosures or on short sales, in which the lender agrees to accept less than the full amount owed on the mortgage.

Washington Post

Lenders still optimistic?

[FreakinDJ]

1. Why short sale when the Feds will prop you up

I'm out here in Cali where they have whole 50 house developments the developers have walked away from leaving the bank stuck with the properties.

There are NO short sales

So these banks stuck with all these properties are in no hurry to move inventory. Most likely because they know the Bush administration will sell out the public interest and bail them out at the cost of our economy.

Might want to take a look at Bush's 2004 Top Campaign Contributer list for answers

http://www.opensecrets.org/presidential/contrib.asp?ID=N00008072

[aquart]

2. Which gives them less than a year to steal as much as they can.

Because the crash will fall on the Democrat who takes office in January. And I'm so glad that Obama understands the scope of the disaster and is ready with legislation on day one that will fix it.

[FreakinDJ]

3. That is what I am hearing

At the congressional hearing the other day it became painfully appearent the Fed was falsly propping up the Big Lenders with "Short Term Bandaids" at the long term expense of the American economy.

So when this thing finally does come crashing down it will be even worse

and with a Democrat in office