For real estate auctions, the most important thing was naturally the value of the property.
The key factor in determining the value of the property was the potential for people to move into it.
That was key. After all, most of these properties being put up for auction were mortgaged or had disputers.
Americans did not have good habits of saving money. Instead, they liked to spend on credit. Hence, family credit rating was relatively small. Often, they were unable to pay off the loan after buying a house. Hence, the bank would then retract the ownership of the property.
In some cases, it was because the house owners were unable to afford the property tax. The property tax in California was lower, at around one percent. That meant to say that if the house were worth a million US dollars, the annual tax would add up to 10,000 dollars.
