Plagued by tumbling home prices and rapidly rising foreclosures, Las Vegas has one of the worst housing markets in the country right now, by nearly any measure. Which means that auctions of REO properties in the local market are sure to be a pretty big event — Hudson and Marshall, one of the nation’s larger auction firms, said Monday that it will auction more than 200 bank-owned foreclosures on April 20. “Overbuilding combined with a high rate of foreclosures, has led to a surplus of inventory and a significant decline in home prices in Nevada,” said Dave Webb, principal Hudson & Marshall. “Buyers looking to take advantage of this down market, should attend bank-owned foreclosure auctions. Foreclosure doesn’t mean distressed. You can get some great homes at terrific values because lenders are eager to quickly get these bad loans off their books,” added Webb. Auctions — once relegated to the fringe on the distressed real estate marketplace — have taken hold of the mainstream as the disposition method of choice for vacant REO, as the credit crisis has worn on and lenders find themselves stuck with bloating inventories of unsold properties. Webb said the upcoming Las Vegas auction will feature homes spanning in value from $70,000 to $740,000. As with most auctions, sellers have the right to accept or reject any bid; however, in past auctions conducted by Hudson & Marshall, the majority of offers have been accepted, Webb said. For more information, visit http://www.hudsonandmarshall.com.