Foreclosure auction held in Raleigh

“It makes me crazy. My heart is pounding. I feel really nervous,” bidder Julie Wills said of the auction process.

REDC auctions foreclosed properties for banks. At its Sunday auction at the Raleigh Civic Center, 46 foreclosed homes were sold to the highest bidders.

“There's a demand for a foreclosed home movement here in the Raleigh area as there is all over the country,” said REDC Senior Vice President David Lee.

“I came with a friend of mine, and you know how the action goes, it is a fast pace. I'm sure it's a good price. I'll find out in a few minutes,” Chakra said.

Chakra bought a Fayetteville home for $20,000 at the auction.

The majority of the properties sold Sunday were purchased for about half of their previous values.

“Every home that goes across the auction block is an asset that someone has lost. But that's the down side,” Lee said.

The upside is, “The more folks who buy, the less inventory there is, (and) the home prices will go up," Chakra said.

REDC is planning to return to the Triangle with a new list of foreclosed homes in March.

Nationwide, more than 259,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in November, down 7 percent from October, but 28 percent higher than a year ago, RealtyTrac said.

By the end of the year, REDC expects to have sold 20,000 foreclosed properties – worth about $3 billion – across the United States.