Where: 37XX 17th Ave. South, Minneapolis
What: 4 BR/2 BA, 2,386 FSF
When: on market, April 3; closed, May 22; days on market: 2
How much: list price – $88,900; sold price – $121,000

Want an example of a too-cheap foreclosure setting off a feeding frenzy?

This spacious 1 1/2 story (much bigger than it looks) in south Minneapolis attracted more than 10 offers — my client’s was one of them — and ultimately sold for $32,100, or 36%, over the asking price.

While these numbers are eye-popping, they are by no means unusual these days: I’ve personally seen at least two dozen of these real estate lotteries just in the last two months.

They create a handful of winners, plus a whole lot of losers: all the runners-up Buyers and agents who wasted their time in a process that looks and feels manipulative; the banks, who may or may not be selling their foreclosed homes at market prices; and the people who own the banks that own the foreclosures: the taxpayers.
About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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