One company's misfortune is creating opportunities for potential homebuyers.

A bank foreclosed on 36 new condominiums at Meadow Wood Park at 2814 Atlantic Avenue in Raleigh. Now the condos are selling for a fraction of the original price through an auction.

The starting bid for a one-bedroom is $75,000. For two-bedrooms, it's $95,000. The condos used to be priced at more than $200,000.

Potential buyers got their first look Sunday afternoon.

"This is a great deal. You get a lot for your money," said Jessica Lee of Clayton. "There are a lot of apartments for sale. So you have a really great shot of getting something."

Max Spann, whose company is helping with the event, says auctions of brand new homes are happening up and down the East Coast.

"It's a time-tested way of moving a lot of inventory in one day," he said.

The owner can sell in one day what might otherwise take one year, Spann said. And they don't have to pay for maintenance costs indefinitely.

The buyer potentially gets a bargain.

The open house attracted people who might otherwise not be shopping for a home.

"I could buy and spend the same amount of money that I do on rent. So it kind of speeded me up," said Patrece Floyd of Knightdale.

But there's no telling how much the apartments will sell for.

"I don't think they'll go for $75,000 and $95,000. But they certainly I don't believe will go for what the previous asking price was. I think it will be somewhere in between," said Karin McNair, another potential buyer.

Now the buyers decide what the condos are worth. The auction will be November 15. There will be open houses the next two Sundays from noon to two.

"You the buyer vote when you bid," Spann said.