A lesson from the last recession becomes California law

A bill signed into law Monday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom seeks to prevent a repeat of history by overhauling the way foreclosures are sold in the state. It bans bulk auctions of homes, giving tenants and other community stakeholders exclusive windows to match bids made by speculators, with the idea of keeping property in the community’s hands. 

Senate Bill 1079 was prompted in part by my book “Homewreckers.” The bill’s author, Democratic state Sen. Nancy Skinner of Berkeley, says the preemptive timing is key. “We were late to the party” during the Great Recession, she said. By the time legislation passed, “the vast majority of homes had already been foreclosed on.”

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