An auction of 61 foreclosure homes in San Joaquin County last month resulted in the sale of two out of three of the homes offered in no-minimum bidding in Stockton.

Crystal Wright, spokeswoman for the Dallas-based auctioneering firm of Hudson & Marshall, said banks have sold about 65 percent of the houses for which top bids were accepted in the auction, attended by about 500 people.

Typically, more than 90 percent of top auction bids are accepted by highly motivated banks, with accepted bids coming in as low as 20 percent less than list prices, said Hudson & Marshall, which specializes in foreclosure-property auctions nationwide. But Wright said new auction action in an area usually amounts to bidders getting a feel for what bids will be reasonably acceptable and sellers sounding out the market on what people are willing to pay for foreclosures in that area.

“Banks may not have a complete understanding of the Stockton market yet, so expectations may be above what’s happening in the market,” she said.

At the next auction, buyers may be more educated, and banks may be back with a different idea about what prices they’ll accept, she said, and they will meet in the center.

“Everybody’s trying to feel out the situation.”

Hudson & Marshall staged a number of auctions in Northern California last month in response to the growing number of foreclosure homes in the state. Auctions were staged in Modesto, Sacramento and the Bay Area. Wright said the company expects to hold auctions through next year, probably about every 90 days or so. Nothing has been set for the next auction, she said.

Posted: 12|8|07 at 10:33 am. Filed under: Auction News.