Buy in bulk and save...

Banks are holding so many foreclosures in Detroit, that instead of selling homes individually, they've begun to offer them to investors in bulk.  

The following is a quote from the Detroit Free Press:

Sales were up dramatically in Detroit in February, rising 49% from a year before, and realty watchers say foreclosure properties played a key role in the increase.

Some see significant risk to investors who could get low-end properties without being familiar with pitfalls of the market. “Real estate is not a commodity. You have to know what you are buying,” said Mark Nagy, a broker and consultant for RE Investments Inc. in Southfield. “What typically ends up in bulk sales is stuff that has sat on the market for more than six months.”

Banks see Detroit as a sore spot, Nagy said, because they cannot move the properties and there are so many. “Bulk buying will become more commonplace by the end of the summer,” Nagy said. “Right now, so many properties in Detroit are like a hot potato. Whoever ends up with it will be crushed.”

My Take

This is a tremendous opportunity for the savvy to pickup homes for a song and a dance.  And eventually when the market swings back, these homes could be worth a lot of money.  The problem is, you'll have to actively guard those properties to keep them from being either vandalized or stripped to the bone.