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""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com reported Wednesday that it had sold 207 ""HomeSteps REO homes"":http://www.homesteps.com to first-time buyers and other owner-occupants at auctions in Las Vegas and Riverside-San Bernardino, California on April 24 and 25.
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""The response was very encouraging,"" said Ingrid Beckles, SVP of default asset management at Freddie Mac. ""In one weekend we put 207 new families on the road to sustainable homeownership in Las Vegas and the Inland Empire. The bidding was intense in both markets.""
The auctions drew thousands of bidders, with the Riverside Convention Center filled to capacity on the 25th. Freddie Mac sold 90 percent of the REO properties set aside for the auctions. Altogether HomeSteps found buyers for 107 repossessed homes in Las Vegas and 100 homes in Riverside/San Bernardino.
[COLUMN_BREAK]Morning auctions in each location were held for borrowers eligible for the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) and afternoon auctions for the general public interested in buying a home as their principle residence.
The NSP provides counseling and financial assistance to encourage first-time homebuyers and other owner-occupants to buy foreclosed homes in designated areas hard hit by the housing downturn. Fifty of Freddie Mac's auctioned properties were in areas targeted under the NSP. The GSE sold all but one of them â€" 36 in Vegas, and 13 in Riverside/San Bernardino.
As an added incentive to bidders at the morning NSP auctions, HomeSteps offered to pay up to 3.5 percent of the closing costs and, for homes that sold for at least $25,000, provide a two-year limited home warranty through ""Cross Country Home Services"":http://www.cchs.com.
The auctions were managed by ""New Vista"":http://www.newvistareo.com and the ""Real Estate Disposition Corporation"":http://www.redcgroup.com (REDC).
According to Gary Acosta, co-CEO of New Vista, the large turnout for the GSE's REO auctions reaffirms how central owner-occupant buyers are to the housing recovery.
""With the help of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program providing downpayment assistance to buyers and Freddie Mac providing an inventory of qualifying homes, these auctions were designed to keep these homes in the hands of the community,"" said Jeffrey Frieden, CEO of REDC.
