Yesterday, over a thousand people flocked to the Javits Center in hopes of landing a deal at the city's first home foreclosure auction. The NY Times, which said 1,400 were in attendance, described the atmosphere:
On the floor, four men called the bids, screaming, blowing whistles, thrusting their arms into the air and using their fingers to signal how much more was being offered over the last bid...
There were experienced bidders, many of them investors who have made careers of buying, fixing up and selling foreclosed homes for below-market prices — and quick profits. There were the novices, who looked at once lost and awestruck, their eyes darting between the booklet listing the houses that were up for grabs and the screens that showcased them as the bidding went on.
There were also protesters outside the Javits Center, telling visitors, "The auction is a shame, the banks are to blame," and "Bail out the people."
With 375 homes in the NY, NJ and Pennsylvania area on the block, some buyers just went for it. The NY Post reports that one family bought a 2,062-square foot home in the Finger Lakes region for just $12,500—or $6 per square foot. Marc Ettrick said, "I'm sure my wife made a really good deal. She knows to stay away from bad plumbing and vandalism," but admitted he had no idea where the house was (they didn't visit it). Another buyer, Beth Kaplan Bongar, had visited the Hamptons Bay home before submitting the winning bid of $185,000; she told the Times it didn't need much repair work, “I need a place to call home. And in the long run, this will cost me a little more than the storage bin I have down in Jersey, which is costing me $300 a month.”
