Nobody bids on any of the properties, and Fred Lappe says that's not a surprise.

NPR: Housing Auctions Surge as Foreclosures Mount

Mr. FRED LAPPE (Auctioneer): If you get your cell phones off, ladies and gentlemen.

NPR: Housing Auctions Surge as Foreclosures Mount

Fred Lappe(ph) has been running this type of auction for nearly 20 years, and he methodically reads off the Chicagoan suburban properties the courts have ruled must now be sold.

NPR: Housing Auctions Surge as Foreclosures Mount

Organized by the Renewables 100 Policy Institute, based in Santa Monica, California, the gathering had its fair share of grassroots environmentalists, but it was peppered with esteemed scientists, eco-celebs (such as Frances Moore Lappe), and government officials (San Francisco mayor Edward Lee).

FORBES: All Renewables, All The Time

Mr. LAPPE: Purchasing at a foreclosure auction today is probably much less of a deal than it was a year ago or two years ago, because previously, with credit standards being fairly loose, an investor who bought a property to foreclosure sale stood a pretty good chance of finding a qualified buyer to sell the property to.

NPR: Housing Auctions Surge as Foreclosures Mount