BLM to Auction 12 Parcels, 56 Acres in March

By Hubble Smith

By HUBBLE SMITH

REVIEW-JOURNAL

The Bureau of Land Management is selling 12 parcels of federal land totaling 56 acres at public auction March 7 at Cashman Center, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North.

The land is being sold under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998, which directs the BLM to provide for the orderly disposal of some 27,000 acres in Clark County based on recommendations made by local governments and the public, BLM sales supervisor Ann Wharton said. The disposal boundary was expanded to about 45,000 acres.

Bidding starts at the federal government’s appraised fair market value of each parcel. Most of the parcels are 2.5 acres and appraised at $900,000, BLM spokeswoman Hillerie Patton said. At the most recent auction in August, the BLM sold 27.5 acres for $11 million, or about $400,000 an acre. Since November 1999, the BLM has sold 13,000 acres for nearly $2.8 billion at 13 auctions.

“It does seem like a small inventory to auction off,” Nevada Title Co. land specialist Travis Nelson said of the 56 acres. “I think the BLM is looking at the overall market and trying to maximize their profits on the land, and if they don’t see the opportunity, they’re not going to do it. Right now, demand for residential land, especially low density, is not what it was a year ago.”

Proceeds are used to buy environmentally sensitive land and fund conservation projects in Nevada. Ten percent of the money goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority and 5 percent goes to the Nevada State General Education Fund.

A map and description of the parcels are available on the BLM Web site, www.nv.blm.gov, under land sales and at the BLM’s Las Vegas field office, 4701 N. Torrey Pines Road.

(c) 2007 Las Vegas Review – Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.