Real estate auction attracts moderate interest

WALTERBORO — The price reached a level that made Becky Collins think twice. But she put in the bid and acknowledged afterward it was the right move.

"We were pleased," says Collins, who runs Home Place Cattle Co. in Blackville. She had the high offer of $1,550 an acre for 250 acres adjacent to her beef cattle ranch in Barnwell County.

The bidding was at a July 17 real estate auction of about 30 properties from the Charleston area to outside Columbia. The Walterboro office of United Country, a national company specializing in rural properties, handled the auction. Held at the Hampton Street auditorium, the event drew a few dozen real estate agents and other bidders and a few curious onlookers.

"We found it unusual," says Collins, noting that she's used to cattle auctions but not real estate-bidding events.

Property auctions aren't unheard of but typically involve either distressed properties, or the sale of a single house or piece of land or maybe a few properties side by side. The Walterboro event grouped dozens of sites from vacant land to homes, large tracts to single lots, locales at the beach to hilly country digs.

Joe B. Williams, who heads the United Country office in Walterboro, is the auction's mastermind. He promoted it to boost excitement in the properties, particularly in a sluggish market. The auction started slow.

"I was having a sinking feeling, really, at the beginning," he says. But attendance and activity picked up in early afternoon. "I expected more (of a turnout), but it wasn't a disaster," he says.

Properties went on the auction block as an alternative to negotiated sales, so those that weren't bid on can still be sold conventionally. A number of properties did receive bids, too.

Despite the modest showing, Williams says he's committed to hosting another auction in October, and has also scheduled one for next March.

The concept may catch on elsewhere. United Country agent Robert Hicks traveled from Savannah, Tenn., between Memphis and Nashville, to witness the auction. "I'm just learning," he says. "Mr. Williams has been very successful. I plan to do some auctions there (in Tennessee)," Hicks says.

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.