Forclosure auctions picking up nationwide

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Foreclosure auctions, with up to 700 houses available for bid, are popping up across the United States in another sign of the housing slump and credit crunch.

In the Washington area, auctioneer Hudson & Marshall sold roughly 240 foreclosed homes last weekend, chipping away at the backlog of homes abandoned by buyers who couldn't keep up with escalating payments, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.

In Minneapolis, 325 bank-repossessed homes will be available for auction Oct. 20-21in what observers say is one of the largest foreclosure auctions in many years, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

"Lenders aren't in the business of holding property," said Michel Schack, senior vice president of Real Estate Disposition Corp., the Irvine, Calif., firm that's running the Minneapolis auction.

More auctions in the nation's capital -- an urban area usually known for its strong economy and job security -- are planned as homeowners get squeezed by the credit crunch on their subprime, adjustable-rate mortgages, Dave Webb, a principal of Dallas-based Hudson & Marshall, told the Washington Times.

"(Washington) is much more stable than other markets in the country because of government-based industry and other strong industry," Webb said.