A HUD auction is a form of foreclosure auction except the original lender was a federal agency instead of a private lender. The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government...

 (HUD), is the insurer of loans made through a variety of government programs, particularly FHA

FHA

FHA may mean:* Federal Housing Administration. See also FHA loan.* Federal Highway Administration* Civil Rights Act of 1968 -- In particular, Title VIII of the Act, also known as the Fair Housing Act* Forced Hot Air heating...

 loans. When a lender forecloses on a government insured loan, HUD takes possession of the property.

Homes are listed on the Multiple Listing Service

Multiple Listing Service

A multiple listing service is a suite of services that enables real estate brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation , facilitates cooperation with other broker participants, accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals, and is a facility for the orderly...

by a listing agent who generally receives a 1% commission for listing the property, but is otherwise unaffiliated with HUD.