Overland Park, Kansas - An auction believed to be the largest online sale of real estate in the world recently earned more than $60 million for a Florida community that earlier considered taking a private treaty sale offer of just $12 million for the properties. The sale shows the success of the auction method and the new trend of online real estate auctions, observers said.
Two years ago, 1900 lots of tax delinquent land were available from the city of North Port, Florida for $1,000 a piece. During a recent online real estate auction, the lots sold for an average of $32,000 each with the most expensive lot being sold for just under $80,000. In the recent past these lots may have been sold only by traditional real estate listing or by traditional auction alone, but North Port-area officials chose to sell by using an auction company that sold the lots on the Internet, gaining a wide audience with strong marketing. The auction was conducted by Fisher Auction Company, the firm selected by the city and county to sell the lots that came into public ownership after owners failed to pay property taxes.
More than 200 additional lots will be available during a final online auction running Thursday, March 23rd through Tuesday, March 28. While a final live auction of remaining properties was scheduled, officials now believe the last auction will be unnecessary.
â€Å"The way things are going, all of the lots may sell out completely," said County Manager of Policies and Projects Terry Gilbert in an interview with the Sun and Weekly Herald.
According to County Commissioner Joe Thaxton, the lots were put on the tax delinquent rolls between 1999 and 2004. At one point, developers offered Sarasota county $12 million for the lots. The county was heavily criticized by residents, government officials and local media for not taking the offer at the time.
Rather than selling the entirety to a single developer, the county commissioners decided to give community members and regular citizens the opportunity to purchase a lot during the online auction.
While the net proceeds of the online auction will be split between Sarasota County (45%) and the city of North Port (55%), the lots are also expected to generate an additional yearly property tax revenue of approximately $235,000 for the county, $281,000 for North Port and $452,000 for the school district. Fifty of the original lots were set aside from the auction for future use by the school district.
Anyone interested in obtaining information about the lots or the auction process can visit the city's Web site at http://www.cityofnorthport.com/, the county's Web site at http://www.scgov.net/ or Fisher's Web site at http://www.fisherauction.com/.
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With more than 6,000 members from throughout the world, the National Auctioneers Association is the largest organization of its kind dedicated to promoting the auction method of marketing and enhancing the professionalism of its members. Member benefits range from federal legislative representation to comprehensive continuing education programs, including coursework to earn the following professional auctioneer designations: Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI), Accredited Auctioneer, Real Estate (AARE), Graduate Personal Property Appraiser (GPPA) and Certified Estate Specialist (CES). The organization was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kan. For more information on the NAA and its programs, log on to http://www.auctioneers.org/.
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