Fairfax County, ravaged by the mortgage crisis, plans to buy up foreclosed properties and aid first-time homebuyers who want to purchase them as part of an effort to shore up the local housing market.

The $11.5 million initiative comes as a growing number of local governments take steps to try to ease the housing crisis.

Several cities -- including Cleveland, Baltimore, Minneapolis and Buffalo -- have sued investment banks and lenders, charging that their lending practices devastated neighborhoods, and hurt property values and city tax collections.

Fairfax, however, is among the first municipalities planning to purchase foreclosures directly.

Plans to buy foreclosed properties have been more common in blighted urban areas. Minneapolis has a $12 million fund to buy and fix foreclosed or vacant properties.

Still, with foreclosures and loan defaults continuing to surge, it's doubtful that cities will be able do more than nip around the edges of the problem.

"No single program is going to be able to solve the problem entirely," said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research. "But at the same time, every little bit helps."

Fairfax County's plans, approved Monday, involve spending nearly $3 million to buy and repair up to 10 foreclosed homes the county believes are pulling down the value of neighboring properties.

The county, which has a population of more than 1 million, also plans to help as many as 100 first-time homebuyers purchase foreclosed properties for up to $385,000.

Gerald Connolly, chairman of the county's Board of Supervisors, said in a statement that the initiative "will help restore stability for residents and neighborhoods affected by the foreclosure crisis."

The county plans to spend $6.5 million over the next two years on the program. The remainder is to come from an existing credit line and more than $2 million in federal funds.