As home prices in the region climb and inventory dries up, the nation’s largest mortgage lenders are gambling on the future of the housing recovery, a Herald-Tribune analysis shows.
Banking giants from Wells Fargo to Fannie Mae are routinely paying top dollar on the auction steps to hold onto their own distressed properties, outbidding cash offers and paying well above assessed value, according to a review of thousands of Southwest Florida auction purchases.
They are speculating that the properties will appreciate even more in the next couple of years.