Intracoastal Waterway lots up for auction

Three Intracoastal Waterway lots in Carolina Forest will go on the auction block on Thursday - a form of marketing that real estate agents say is becoming more popular for residential properties in a slow market.

• Auctioning is becoming more popular for residential properties, analysts say, because of high inventories and a buyer’s market.

• The benefits of auctions are better marketing, a date of sale and perhaps a better price - owners can put minimums on their property so it won’t be sold for less than they want.

• If it doesn’t sell, the company then has a list of all the potential people who were interested in buying and the owner has an idea what that group of buyers thought the property was worth on that given day.

Three owners will find out what price their lots are worth Thursday.

• The auction for lots 31, 32 and 50 in Carolina Waterway Plantation will start at 6 p.m. at the Comfort Suites at the intersection of U.S. 501 and U.S. 17 Bypass.

• Bidders should arrive early to register.

Tom Maeser, president of the Fortune Academy of Real Estate, said auctioning residential properties is certainly becoming more popular, but it’s important the consumer gets a reputable auctioneer.

• “I see more and more of it. It used to mean distressed sales, but it doesn’t mean that now. People are more receptive to it. When people get frustrated with the existing scenario, an auction becomes another method,” he said.

The owners of the three lots in Carolina Waterway Plantation could be frustrated because there are a good number of lots already on the market in that development - 66 lots out of 364.

• And only two lots have sold since the first of the year, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

• Similar waterway lots are on the market for $421,900 at lot 49 and $427,435 at lot 39. And the waterway lot that sold most recently went for $355,000, down from an asking price of $380,000.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach