Chicago-based Sheldon Good & Co. is conducting the auction. A total 118 of the home sites are in Putnam County, about 70 miles north of Downtown Orlando. The other lots are south of Jacksonville in the Palm Coast area of St. Johns and Flagler counties; in Citrus County; and near Ocala horse country in Marion County.

The Putnam lots are in the Interlachen area, off Route 20, which runs between Jacksonville in the northeast and Gainesville in the northwest portion of the state. The two-lane area is scheduled to be widened to four lanes, "creating a major east-west corridor across Northern Florida," says Sheldon L. Good, chairman and CEO of his company. Area land brokers tell GlobeSt.com it is difficult to forecast prices. "On the commercial side, most builders and developers buy [residential] lots in bulk so the price per lot goes down according to the number of lots purchased and the buying terms involved," a Marion County broker tells GlobeSt.com. "But when you buy single lots or just a few lots at one sitting, the price generally is much higher than the commercial rate."

Projected auction prices could range from $50,000 a lot to more than $100,000 per lot, depending on their location and accessibility to a lake or major highway, the broker tells GlobeSt.com.

Good says 30% of the lots in Putnam County will be sold "absolute, without reserve, regardless of price." He says "this means the seller has agreed to sell 30% of the sites at prices determined by the winning bidders." The remaining 70% of the lots would have a starting bid price on them set by the seller. Good says the lots may be purchased individually or in bulk.

Good says the seller has also agreed to finance $8,500 of the sales price, amortized over 30 years with a five-year balloon to 25 of the successful bidders. The auction house chief says the offered financing is "a great opportunity that will enable almost anyone to participate in owning land in the exciting Florida market."

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