Hot Property: For Norm Waitt Jr.’s Montecito mansion, a sealed-bid auction

When a quiet man with a 10-digit net worth speaks, I like to listen.

Norm Waitt Jr., co-founder of Gateway personal computers, is selling his Montecito mansion – Belle Époque – in a sealed-bid auction instead of continuing to list it with a real estate agent.

The house, his ex-wife’s pet project, had been listed for more than a year. He even dropped the price from $24.8 million to an eventual $19.7 million, based on his agent’s advice that “below $20 million” would attract a buyer. It didn’t.

There were a few false starts, Waitt said, but a deal never came to fruition. It’s a story that transcends price and is likely sounding familiar to many trying to sell houses right now.

“Selling it in an auction sounded interesting to me,” Waitt said, “it’s a different marketing approach.” Sheldon Good & Co. is handling the sale, which, according to David Latvaaho, senior vice president, will cast a wider net and likely attract foreign buyers as well as the usual suspects. All sealed bids must be submitted by 3 p.m. on June 25 and Waitt has the right to accept, reject or negotiate with any and all bidders.

The unspoken here: The seller is retaining a modicum of control in a market where buyers rule the roost.

Belle Époque – French for “beautiful era” – is a French Country estate in a sea of Montecito Mediterraneans. It has 12,000 square feet overlooking the Pacific on almost 3 acres.

There are five bedrooms, eight full and three half baths, five fireplaces and reclaimed wide-plank oak floors imported from the East Coast. There are formal gardens, several large family lawns, a meditation garden and a wildflower meadow, plus pool and spa.

Waitt, divorced in 2006, says he is selling because it’s “more house” than he needs. “I’m single,” said the 54-year-old, “and this is more of a family house.” Plus he already owns another house in Montecito.

Waitt left Gateway in 1991 and was an executive producer of the film “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” (2002).