30% ‘price cuts’ at Oxnard auction

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Good morning. A number of you (Cal, Mike) pointed out this Ventura County Star report on an auction of 40 new homes in Oxnard. Highlights, lowlights, etc.:

--Forty new homes were auctioned off in roughly an hour on Sunday.
--Prices and discounts? A home ‘once listed’ at $608,000 sold for $425,000, a ‘price cut’ of 30%. A real price cut? Who knows -- it’s hard to say whether the ‘once listed’ price was ever close to a market price.
--Financing? Up to 100% financing for auction buyers. Who says no-money-down is dead?
--Upside down? Those who bought in the development prior to the auction -- presumably at higher prices -- aren’t wild about the price cuts: ‘One of them said he bought a year ago for $575,000 and was pretty angry that someone might get the same home for $360,000,’ house-hunter Michael Huang told the Ventura County Star.

Your thoughts? Comments? Insights? Email story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: Westwind at Oxnard by Paragon Communities