Smith Mountain Lake, VA - Lots of for sale signs and not enough homes selling— the housing crisis is everywhere. Now realtors and developers, including some here in our area, are trying a new approach to match buyers with homes.  Auctioneers say their business is booming and it could mean big savings for you.

You could get a pretty good bargain for a fancy house at Smith Mountain Lake, if you buy it here.

Marcus Gilbert, United Country - "Auctions were once considered a last resort. Now they are considered a first line of attack for selling houses."

A reason auctioneers say their business is going up is because there are too many of these -- for sale signs -- and not enough homes selling.

Gilbert - "It's harder. That's the reason they called us.  Cause the traditional way was not working."

They hope this will. The average retail price of some of the homes for auction is about $725,000, the average opening bid is only $435,000. It's what many realtors and developers are having to do. Plus, it has its advantages.

Susanne Helbig, Genesis Mansions - "With auctions, you not only sell one, you sell numerous properties. Or you present numerous properties and you have numerous prospects."

Gilbert - "Here we are taking the property to the market, we are not waiting for the market to come to us."

Sellers may not get the ideal price for the homes but at least they get to unload them. And buyers can finally have the upper hand when it comes to how much they pay.

Auctioneer Marcus Gilbert says the real estate auction business has increased almost 50 percent in the past few years. Gilbert says he received international attention for Saturday evening’s auction.

Email To A Friend