Armed with information about AuctionFirst’s “ballroom auction” at the Hilton Hotel on Page Road in Durham, a 17-page inspection report and a cashier’s check, Brendan Hayes arrived at the Hilton ready to buy his first home.

Hayes, originally from Wilmington and recently hired by Duke Endowment as a private investments analyst, was relocating to the Triangle.

“I was looking in the Durham-Chapel Hill area and came across a few homes driving around,” he said.

At one home — a two-bedroom, two-bathroom condominium at Cranebridge Place in Chapel Hill — Hayes had seen a big yellow-and-blue AuctionFirst sign in the front yard.

He called the phone number on the sign and spoke with Ben Farrell, real estate broker and licensed auctioneer. Hayes learned that the condo was one of 10 properties for sale at the ballroom auction set for late March.

The “ballroom” concept attracts a larger audience for homes than any private auction or sale, said Sarah Sonke, president of AuctionFirst North Carolina. By auction day, more than 600 interested buyers had approached AuctionFirst about the properties, she said.

“The main point is that auctions are a tremendous marketing tool that creates a sense of urgency,” Sonke said.

“From a seller’s perspective, it’s a much more expeditious process,” Hayes said.

Farrell referred Hayes to Christy Kimbro, a real estate agent with Fonville Morisey in Chapel Hill and designated agent for AuctionFirst. Kimbro agreed to represent Hayes at the home auction.

“Brendan was a great candidate [for an auction] because he is a highly competitive young businessman who will settle for nothing short of getting what he wants,” Kimbro said.

In contrast to the traditional market, potential buyers at an auction view homes before a price is even listed. Good buyers, according to Sonke, are well-informed about the condition of the property and the price of comparable homes in the area. They need to do their homework: Inspections, market research and loan qualifications should occur before buyers bid on a property.

“They have a bidding strategy and know what their spending limit is,” she said.

“As a potential buyer, I think of the maximum price I’m willing to pay,” Hayes said. “Otherwise, bite your tongue and walk away.”

From a buyer’s perspective, an auction may lead to a sweet deal.

“It’s possible that you can get a home below market value,” he said.

And he did. He was the high bidder at $160,000 — $10,000 below the suggested opening bid.

Three auction participants competed for ownership of a home on King George Loop in Cary. It sold for $226,000 — $46,000 higher than the suggested opening bid.

Although the condominium and the Cary property were the only homes that sold on auction day, bidders and sellers for eight of the 10 properties continued to work deals after the event.

That’s not that unusual, Sonke said: Only about 50 percent of homes are actually sold on auction day.

“A lot of people assume that when auction day is done, the fat lady has sung and it’s all over,” she said. “It’s a multidimensional process with the live bid being the tip of the iceberg.”

Sonke assures buyers and sellers that the auction process does not end with the live auction. Some buyers, in the hopes that their desired property doesn’t sell at the bidding, expect to purchase a home below the minimum bid — a secret dollar amount, determined prior to auction, at which the homeowner agrees to sell.

Two registered bidders for the house at 806 E. Franklin St. were not prepared to make the minimum $595,000 bid, so the caller moved on to the next home. Both of those bidders negotiated privately with the seller after the live auction closed. After two weeks, no agreement could be reached. The owners pulled the house off the market and plan to try again.

“For some reason, [some buyers] believe that after the public auction event is over, the auction company is out of the picture and buyers can deal directly with the seller,” Sonke said. “Since our accelerated marketing has identified the likely buyers…we’re…going to get the deal done.”

The auction company is now in private negotiations with more than 40 bidders whose strategy in the live auction backfired.

“That’s what makes it a superb tool in this market — it finds the market and the buyers quickly. Then it’s just a matter of engaging the buyer in the way they are most comfortable,” Sonke said.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the number of auctions in the United States is going to increase significantly by 2010. The group predicts approximately one-third of all properties will be sold via auction.

Jennifer Stenner, the broker-in-charge in the Fonville Morisey office, said real estate agents are getting creative in order to help their clients sell homes.

“There are 18,000 homes listed in the Triangle Multiple Listing Service,” she said. “Good agents have to figure out how to put theirs in the front.”