Lisa and Don Price hoped to buy their dream home near Lake Allatoona on Tuesday.

They arrived early at the Cherokee County Courthouse, joining about 50 other deal-seekers looking to purchase foreclosed property at auction. Across metro Atlanta, a record-setting 7,000 properties were listed for auction Tuesday.

Frank Niemeir/AP (ENLARGE)

Lisa and Don Price of Woodstock react upon hearing the unexpectedly high opening bid for a house they were hoping to buy at foreclosure.

Frank Niemeir/AJC (ENLARGE)

A crowd listens to property prices as more than 300 parcels were auctioned off in Cherokee County on Tuesday.

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In Gwinnett County on Tuesday, the stack of sheets listing the foreclosures perused by bargain hunters like investor and contractor Brett Peele was an inch thick. A few months ago, it felt more like a pamphlet, he said. Peele guessed that the book holds about 30 percent more foreclosure listings this month than in April.

"It kind of ebbs and flows," he said.

The Prices had picked out a home in a lakeside community so their two boys, Wes, 16, and Win, 14, could go boating more often. The family liked the backyard swimming pool and the quiet neighborhood.

The Prices didn't get their dream home. No one else got the house either.

The bank holding the original mortgage bought the note for $368,000, an amount that included a second mortgage. The sum was much higher than the $307,100 listed in the legal ad, and at least $20,000 more than the Prices were willing to pay.

"It wasn't meant to be," Lisa Price said after her dream went up in smoke.

A second home the Prices were interested in didn't make it to the auction block either.

It was a tough turn of events for the family. The Prices are on a deadline to move from a home they are renting. They sold their home of 17 years in Woodstock in hopes of finding a deal near the lake.

They'd also invested more than 40 hours of sweat equity in learning how average folk can get a deal on the courthouse steps. They knew to make sure the title was clean. They visited the property beforehand. They brought a cashiers check to buy the property.

And they also brought their moral compass along. The Prices said their personal faith prevented them from bidding on another house they liked, but was being foreclosed on because the owner lost his job after developing a heart illness.

"We don't have the heart to help put him out of his home," she said.

But the day wasn't a total bust. Young Win purchased a wicker chair at auction for $5 and his grandparents, Joy and Ray Grimm, picked up a birdhouse for $12 and a wooden Coca-Cola crate for $5.

In addition to homes and property being auctioned was an odd mix of items, from camper trailers and desks to a baby high chair (which sold for $15).

"I'm disappointed," Don Price said as he headed back to his car. "I wanted to get by the lake for the boys. But we have other options. We're not going to go homeless."

Staff writer George Chidi contributed to this article.