BOISE, Idaho (AP) - The state has auctioned off 59 residential cabin sites in northern Idaho, bringing in $29.1 million.
A majority of the 59 Priest Lake properties auctioned Aug. 18-19 went to buyers that already owned cabins on the land, the Spokesman-Review reported (https://bit.ly/2xGEvcR). The cabin sites were sold at their appraised values which ranged from $313,000 to $707,000.
There was no competitive bidding, which was good for the many cabin owners who thought the appraised values were too high, said George Nethercutt who served as a past chairman of the former Priest Lake State Lessees Association. He was able to successfully bid for and purchase the land underneath his family cabin.
Out of the 61 lots offered in the auction, only two remained unsold. All but four of the lots were leased to owners of cabins on the land.
“They weren’t contested, and that’s a good thing,” Nethercutt said. “I’m glad for everybody.
Now that the cabin owners also own the land, Nethercutt has seen many of them renovating or replacing their cabins.
“There seems to be a lot of activity around the lake,” he said. “I was told by one contractor that he cannot find qualified people to serve as employees, and he said other contractors are in the same boat.”
With the sales from the latest auction, the state now has 151 leased cabin sites at Priest Lake. It may continue to auction sites off through 2019, and possibly beyond. The state plans to reinvest the money earned from the sales into higher-earning timber and farm land.
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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, https://www.spokesman.com
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