Of course, good things may also come to those who wait. With few signs of a bottom to the market and inventories of unsold houses continuing to increase, some major banks are already engaging post-foreclosure auctioneers to sell off their properties en masse. Well publicized in advance, such sales can offer advantages over government-administered foreclosure auctions, allowing prospective bidders to tour the homes in advance, and can even offer help with financing.
Recent auctions in Southern California and Florida have disposed of hundreds of homes in a single day, at prices as much as 40 percent off what the houses previously sold for. Even then, however, "it remains to be seen how many of those people actually got a deal," broker Roberts says of home prices that continue to fall in many areas.
