North Medford vacant lots auctioned

Text Size: A | A | A

Print this Article Email this Article

October 19, 2009

By Greg Stiles

Mail Tribune

Half of a planned unit development known as Thurman Court in north Medford will go on the auction block next month.

The 10 vacant lots owned by Umpqua Bank comprise roughly an acre and face 10 completed three-story units sold between April and September 2008 for between $164,000 and $177,000.

The planned unit development lots are among 13 tracts to be auctioned off by Realty Marketing/Northwest Nov. 14 at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel. The reserve price, or minimum bid, for the Medford property is $89,000. The property is being auctioned in one piece; individual lots are not being sold.

According to marketing literature published by Realty Marketing/Northwest, the 2008 real market value of the property was $454,600.

"That is the best deal I've heard in years," said Bill Lankford of Windermere Van Vleet & Associates Real Estate in Medford. "It is remarkable when you can get a regular conventional lot for $80,000."

Developer Charles Street built the units in 2007 and priced them between $227,000 and $237,000. The adjacent units range from 1,388 square feet to 1,452 square feet. They have two-car garages and face the vacant lots. The constructed units are not part of the auction.

Although the building permits have expired for the lots, Lankford said he still has copies of the plans.

Many developments across the country went under when the housing bubble burst and builders were unable to refinance their debt. In Medford, as elsewhere, that misfortune could turn into opportunity for others.

"I can see if builders formed a partnership they could build and sell the townhouses quickly," Lankford said.

A buyer will be subject to monthly Homeowners Association fees — currently $78 per lot — to cover water, sewer and common area maintenance.

Two 160-acre timber tracts are also on the auction block Nov. 14. One is on the northwest-facing slopes of Joe Dyer Butte, five miles east of Shady Cove. There is no minimum bid for that property. A second tract is 10 miles north of Rogue River on the east slopes of China Gap, between the Sykes Creek and Pleasant Valley Creek drainages. The reserve bid is $32,000.

A third Jackson County 160-acre timber tract of forest resource land, also near Joe Dyer Butte, is being auctioned through sealed bids due by 5 p.m. Nov. 18.

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.

Reader Reaction We welcome your feedback on this story, or any follow-up story ideas you might have. Please send a letter to the editor to letters@mailtribune.com, or submit story ideas online here. When submitting a letter to the editor, please review our submissions policy.

Print this Article Email this Article