Detroit can't sell repo houses, even for $500

What if you gave a house giveaway and nobody came? This was almost the scene last week as Wayne County (Detroit) tried to auction off almost 9,000 repossessed properties only to find over 80% of them drew nary a single bid, even with the minimum set at $500.

According to Reuters, these properties would fill Central Park in New York City.

The auction didn't go smoothly, however. Out-of-town speculators cherry-picked prime properties in areas such as the Boston-Edison district, while locals who showed up too late for registration weren't permitted to take part.