Travis Pittman/KING5.com

The owner of this Bothell, Wash. home is selling it online through what he calls a "reverse auction." The price will drop on a regular basis until someone agrees to buy.

BOTHELL, Wash. – A Bothell businessman is doing a 180-degree turn on the traditional home auction with the newest gimmick to come from the sliding housing market.

Justin Wilcox is throwing caution out with the "home for sale" sign and holding what he calls a reverse auction on his spacious three-story, four bedroom home nestled in the trees of this Seattle suburb. In what has become a buyer's market, it's a switch on the usual "offer, counter-offer" scenario between potential home suitors.

"(Realtors) are pretty encouraging. They say 'Hey, that's a creative idea. Let me know how it goes.' But overall, they're a little skeptical," says Wilcox. "This is definitely a different way to sell a house, but it's worth a shot."

There are all sorts of analogies you can come up with to describe it. A homeowner's staring contest. A game of real estate chicken. Only in this case, the person who pulls away first is the winner – or at the very least, is the person who gets the first right to negotiate.

Starting Friday, Wilcox's Web site, BothellCountdown.com, will launch with the price of the home likely listed between $495,000 and $525,000. In about two weeks, Wilcox will drop the price by a few thousand dollars. If that doesn't work, then he'll continue to drop the price every few days until someone says "sold."

Travis Pittman / KING5.com

One of the big selling points of the home in the reverse auction is the remodeled kitchen.

People who go to the site will be able to sign up for e-mail alerts to track the latest price and to learn if a potential sale has fallen through.

Except for buying the home, Wilcox has no real estate experience and has no intention of using a realtor for his reverse auction. But he's more than happy to let a buyer have an agent represent them. Wilcox says the agent will still get their commission and there is always room for negotiation.

"Not having any real estate experience, I don't know how to set a fair price for a house, so if I leave the pricing flexible, then I'm hoping we can find a buyer who thinks 'this is a fair price' once we work it down a little bit," says Wilcox.

If a potential sale falls through, Wilcox says he'll re-launch the auction at the last price that was agreed to.

Think you can lowball on an offer? Nice try. Wilcox does have a basement price that he won't go below. He's not going to reveal what that is yet.

"But it's really low," says Wilcox.

As for the home itself, it was built in 1980, but Wilcox has made several improvements since buying it three years ago. Inside the approximately 3,000 square foot domicile there are four bedrooms, but a studio in the basement can be used as a fifth bedroom. The bathroom on the main floor has been completely redone. The master bedroom sits alone on the third floor with a three-quarter bath, walk-in closet and private deck.

Off the living room, which sports a fireplace and vaulted cedar ceilings, there is another spacious deck. The kitchen is refurbished with granite countertops, a wet bar, glass-blown lighting and all new appliances.

There's also a two car garage and new landscaping in front of the home. You can see it all for yourself at any one of the open houses on Sundays from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. You can also stop by any time with your agent.

Wilcox hopes to use the money he makes off the sale to get his fledgling business, twospaces.net, off the ground. His company will offer to take medical records currently on paper and digitize them for online viewing.