July 19th, 2010 11:32 AM

Freddie Mac said Friday that it has teamed up with real estate auction specialist REDC and the asset management firm New Vista to sell off 135 homes the GSE has repossessed through foreclosure at an auction event in Phoenix, Arizona.

The HomeSteps REO homes will be auctioned off to individual homebuyers at the Phoenix Convention Centeron August 7. Almost a third of the homes are being set-aside specifically for first-time borrowers participating in the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

NSP was designed to help eligible first-time homebuyers purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes in designated areas by providing closing cost and downpayment assistance. NSP funds supporting the Freddie Mac auction are being provided through the State of Arizona Department of Housing.

“The August 7 community homebuyer auction will provide first-time buyers and other Phoenix home shoppers with an outstanding opportunity to buy affordable homes to live in at a time when mortgage rates are at a 50-year low,” said Chris Bowden, VP of HomeSteps, the real estate sales unit of Freddie Mac that markets a nationwide selection of Freddie Mac-owned homes.

Freddie Mac held similar community auctions in Las Vegas and Riverside/San Bernardino counties in April that drew thousands of bidders and sold 207 HomeSteps homes to first-time buyers and other owner-occupants.

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