Feds auctioning off
23 Hawaii homes

It's the second straight year
that a group of foreclosed properties
will be sold at once

By Rob Perez
Star-Bulletin

The federal housing department, continuing to take back increasing numbers of foreclosed properties in Hawaii, is resorting to an auction for the second year in a row to sell a bunch homes at one time.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has scheduled an auction June 5 and 6 to sell 23 homes -- almost all of them condominiums and townhouses -- around the state. The homes were added to HUD's local inventory after the owners defaulted on their federally backed mortgages, triggering lender repossessions. The lenders eventually transferred ownership to HUD.

Jill Hurt, director of HUD's single-family housing division on Oahu, said the number of local foreclosure properties that the agency is getting continues to rise, with about 10 added to its inventory each month. Last year, HUD increased its Hawaii home sales goal to 70 mainly because of the rise in foreclosures. This year the goal has been boosted to 100.

"It's still going up," Hurt said of the foreclosure supply.

Because of the foreclosure surge, the agency last summer held its first-ever Hawaii auction and sold 23 homes at an average of 30 percent below their appraised values.

Real estate agents say home buyers likewise can expect good deals at next month's auction.

"HUD's intention is to make these properties go away," said Daryl Gerloff, a Realtor who is active in the HUD market. "Unless there's unusually low bidding, these properties will go away."

If Federal Housing Administration financing is used for the purchase, an owner-occupant can get into a HUD home for as little as $500.

The 23 homes, about half of which are on Oahu, represent all but one of HUD's current inventory of Hawaii properties, Hurt said.

Larry Latham Auctioneers, which will be conducting the auction, is holding seminars May 28 and 29 so would-be bidders can ask questions about the process and the properties. For more information, call 521-0337.