A Future Full of Foreclosure Bidding Wars?

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Bargain-hunters are descending upon Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., the foreclosure capital of the country, writes June Fletcher in an article in today’s Journal. In February, the southwest Florida metro area had the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., according to RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif., which tracks notices of mortgage default, house-auction notices and bank repossessions. One in 84 households in the area was in some stage of foreclosure last month. One homeowner’s misfortune is another’s great deal: Cape Coral buyers are snagging homes for as little as half the original asking price, according to the article. Bidding wars are breaking out for some foreclosed homes. Ms. Fletcher writes about Tim Post, a “veteran flipper,” who bought a waterfront penthouse in Cape Coral for $300,000, down from a $499,000 asking price.