http://www.minyanville.com/articles/index/a/21546The hot ticket in New York on Sunday wasn’t for the game between the Knicks and Nets. Instead, people vied for entry to the highly anticipated foreclosure sale at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in midtown. About 1,000 people attended the auction; even more bid online. The event was a dystopian circus, made up of fast-talking auctioneers, jubilant buyers and angry protestors.
It's hard to imagine such scenes playing out several years ago, even for those who predicted a housing downturn. Foreclosure sales and tours are being held regularly around the country. This is what fills in as sport these days. Think of it as a different version of March Madness.
The auction in Manhattan presented more than 350 condos, single-family houses and duplexes in the New York metropolitan area and Pennsylvania. A company called the Real Estate Disposition Corp., or REDC, hosted the sale, only its second one in the city. REDC is doing brisk business these days: auctions are scheduled later this month in locations including Georgia, Colorado, Minnesota, Michigan and Puerto Rico.
At the auction Sunday, some homes started at $1,000. The auctioneer described some of them as fixer-uppers with problems like mold, water damage and vandalism. Many buyers paid in cash. Outside, protestors chanted, “Evictions are a crime! It could be your house next!”