Stockton, California real estate agent Cesar Dias leads weekly Repo Home Tours, filling two 18-seat buses with prospective buyers eager to view foreclosed houses that can be snapped up at dramatically reduced prices.

Dias, a Stockton native, said that when he started the free tour in September, some residents criticized it as a tasteless marketing gimmick. But as headlines announce record foreclosures and weeds sprout in the yards of abandoned homes, their tune has changed.

“We’re bringing in homeowners to get the grass green again,” he said.

As the brightly colored buses recently rolled through a subdivision dotted with “For sale” signs, a couple who were stringing up Christmas lights waved. The bargain hunters aboard waved back. Dias, who said his business was booming, offered a friendly beep…

via Los Angeles Times.