But the tide turned in the real estate market.

Builders got hammered – and auctioneers got out their gavels.

Real estate auctions increased 5.3 percent in 2007, generating $58.4 billion in revenues. Since 2003, property auctions are up 39 percent, according to the National Auctioneers Association, a trade group based in Overland Park, Kansas.

"Auctions are the perfect market for pent-up buyers who have been waiting and waiting," Gouge said.

He set his sights on a unit at The Pointe at Moore's Inlet in increasingly gentrified North Wildwood, where Beazer Home Corp. brought in auctioneer Max Spann Jr. to sell off properties to the highest bidder.

Gouge, of Old Bridge, bought his first shore condo at auction in Avalon during a housing slump in the early 1990s. He said auctions are an opportunity for disciplined buyers who are willing to pull the trigger, but only when the price is right.

"You need to thoroughly understand the market and be ready to buy," he said. "There are a lot of amateurs out there and they wind up spending 10 to 15 percent more than they need to."

Gouge and 1,000 hopefuls headed to the May 4 auction, held at the Borgata in Atlantic City. He brought with him a certified check for $10,000, a list of eight condos he thought he and wife would enjoy and a willingness to sign a sales contract immediately following the auction.

He didn't get this first choice – or his second – as early bidders raced past the price threshold he had set for himself.

But his patience paid off. Gouge bought a three-bedroom oceanfront unit with hardwood floors, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, keyless entry and a bevy of other sizzle features.

The asking price: $899,900.

Gouge's winning bid: $550,000, plus a 10 percent buyer's premium for a total of $605,000.

A spokeswoman for Atlanta-based Beazer did not respond to a request for comment. But Spann said the builder decided to auction properties to jump-start cash flow and reduce its carrying costs.

Beazer paid $14.2 million in October 2005 for Moore's Inlet, a sprawling seaside restaurant and watering hole, razed it, and immediately began building a palatial condominium complex.

The first condo sold fetched $1.15 million last August. But by March 31 of this year, fewer than 15 of the 60 units had sold.

"Auctions are attractive to developers because we can sell a year's worth of inventory in a day," Spann said.

He auctioned 26 units for Beazer. Minimum starting bids were $175,000 for 13 condos originally priced from $529,000 and $869,000 and $275,000 for 13 homes initially offered between $899,000 and $1.249 million.

Beazer agreed to sell at least eight condos – four in each price category – to the highest bidders above the minimum. But the company reserved the right to take the remaining 18 properties off the block if bidding didn't live up to expectations.

"As it turned out, the bidding was quite spirited," Spann said.

Winning bids ranged from the mid-$300,000s to low-$800,000s, the auctioneer said. All 26 buyers purchased properties for personal use rather than investments.

Clinton-based Spann is a fourth-generation auctioneer, whose great grandfather ran cattle sales on the Isle of Jersey. His listings have included a golf course, a school house in Florence and a waterfront estate on Nantucket.

"I don't know if we've seen it all but we've seen a lot," he said.

Next month, he will auction three new homes in the Rose Wood development in Winslow Township, originally priced in the low $300,000s. The minimum bid on each is $125,000.

Existing homes also are going on the block as sellers grow weary of waiting for traditional buyers.

Donna Roork and her sister Betty initially listed their two-bedroom home in Elmer with a real estate agent. The property languished on the market for nearly a year.

Eventually, the sisters were approached by an investor, who offered them $140,000.

"But just before we were supposed to go to settlement, he said he could only pay us $90,000," Roork recalled. "We said no way."

A relative in Wisconsin, where residential real estate auctions are common, suggested the sisters consult an auctioneer.

At first, the Roorks were hesitant, worrying an auction might smack of desperation or impending bankruptcy.

"But I did my research and decided to give it a try," she said.

The Roorks turned to Richard Warner of Warner Real Estate & Auction Co. in Woodstown.

"Their house was small but immaculate, wonderfully maintained and in a nice neighborhood," he said. "I thought it was the kind of place that would attract buyers."

Warner marketed the house through direct mailings, print advertising and open houses.

The sisters decided to establish a reserve, or minimum, sale price, as opposed to an absolute auction, in which the highest bid wins the property regardless of the amount.

"When you can set your bid, there's not a lot of risk involved," Roork said.

The sisters' magic number was $130,000. The winning bid on the property was $132,000, placed by a buyer looking for a primary residence.

Within 30 days, the sisters were off to a new home in Ohio.

"The sweetest part is there's no waiting for home inspections or financing because the buyers have to do all that before the sale," Roork said. "We didn't even have to go to settlement. Everything was done through the mail."

Although the housing slump is inspiring more sellers to explore auctions, Warner said he takes on only about one in five prospective clients.

"If somebody put down 5 percent on a house two years ago and wants to sell now we probably can't help because there's no equity," he said.

On June 20, Warner will auction four properties in Millville owned by an investor. Those listings are a commercial property and three homes, including a three-bedroom, two-bath contemporary house with a wrap-around deck. The properties will be sold individually.

"It could take a year to sell them all," he said. "This way, it's all over in a day."