BROOME COUNTY, N.Y. -- There was some fierce bidding Saturday at the Broome County Tax Foreclosure Auction. More than 100 people turned out for the county's first property sell-off of the year.

"The prices are the lowest I've seen in 50 years for houses in the City of Binghamton," said Douglas Ritter, a Lisle resident.

Douglas Ritter is invested in Broome County. For more than 45 years, he has been buying properties, making improvements, and renting them out.

"You learn how to fix things up cheaply but yet good, try to screen tenants to get good tenants in," said Ritter.

He was one of more than 100 bidders with a paddle in their hand at the county tax foreclosure auction Saturday. And while it was all business for him, the auction was a bit more personal for another buyer.

"She's got a mess, she lives outside of New York and I decided to buy it to give to her while I'm still alive," said Joseph Spisak, a Binghamton resident.

Spisak bought a summer house in the City of Binghamton for his daughter, an investment in both community and family. And he's not the only buyer who set his sights on one particular property.

"I looked at all of them, this one was small, something I can take on as a quick easy spring project, get it back, either rent it or put it up on the market," said Chris Paden, a Binghamton resident.

For many buyers at this auction, it's not about buying a new home. It's a hobby.

"Real estate has always been appealing to me. I bought my first house about ten years ago. I enjoyed the rush and want to keep doing it," said Paden.

And like many others, Paden says his bids are strategic.

"Small two bedroom seems to be the thing right now. They seem to selling more, renting more, especially with NYSEG bills as high as they are right now people seem to be going towards smaller houses," he said.

No matter what the future holds for all 55 properties auction off Saturday, the sense of excitement is justified. New life for dozens of homes, and new properties back on the Broome County tax roll. 

Last year the county sold 42 properties and made a profit of more than $200,000.