"In the homes of the future, it's all going to be about technology," says Gopal Ahluwalia of the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C.

He stresses that high-tech items mostly are being installed in upscale housing today. While the buyer of an average-size house doesn't want to spend more than 3 percent to 4 percent of the purchase price on technology, purchasers of million-dollar homes don't worry about tech costs, Ahluwalia says.

House size is a determining factor. "In a small house, there's no room for a separate media room with a 64-inch TV," he says.

One reason for the increased popularity of technology in the future will be its acceptance by younger homeowners -- Generations X and Y, born after 1965, Ahluwalia says. They are more at ease with technology and have more use for it, he says.

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The growth in real estate auctions " ..is due in part to the eBay phenomenon as Americans have become more familiar with the auction process," said Steven L. Good, chairman and chief executive of Sheldon Good & Co., based in Chicago.

Auctions can provide builders, investors and developers with the ability to buy and sell everything from single-family homes, townhouses and condos to raw and approved land, Ritti explained. Sales in once red-hot markets have tanked so quickly that sellers have little handle on how much their homes are really worth now -- or how to attract buyers to begin with.

Auctions also give homeowners another, often faster way to sell their abode in a market fast losing steam.

That's because the waterfront home was auctioned off on eBay by Dan Whaley, a Web enthusiast who founded the first Web-based travel agency. During the 10-day bidding period - the maximum allowed on eBay - which ended Wednesday, the 1,650-square-foot home received

152 bids, according to eBay.

"There are two parts of selling online," Whaley said. "One is having a technology or interface that handles the transaction, and the other part is marketing. For some things eBay serves both needs. For real estate it does not."

Only the transaction component is served well online, he said.