Developer Dave Milne admits it was a gamble to auction off five building lots in his Sakinaw Ridge project on the Sunshine Coast.

And the prices those lots fetched were 20 per cent below list prices when they were put on the block Wednesday night by Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers.

Milne, however, said he is relatively happy with the outcome given slow sales in the area around Pender Harbour, where his project is located.

"We did [the auction] not just to sell properties, but as a market-awareness strategy," Milne said of the sale. "And I think it worked really well."

About 180 bidders participated in the sale between the live site at Richmond's River Rock Casino, Ritchie Bros. office at Nisku, near Edmonton, and online.

Milne added that Ritchie Bros.' marketing drew 20 to 30 of those bidders out to the Sakinaw Ridge site near Pender Harbour to view the properties.

Of the five lots, one 2.2-hectare lot sold for $145,000, a one-hectare ocean view lot sold for $230,000, another 1.42-hectare view lot sold for $230,000 and two oceanfront lots (one 0.66 hectares the other 0.67 hectares) sold for $470,000 each.

Three buyers got in on the action, with one grabbing both of the view lots, and the buyer who picked up the 2.2 hectare parcel also buying a waterfront lot.

"We didn't get the prices that I'd prefer to get," Milne said, "but people got a good buy, [and] that's what auctions are all about."

Sakinaw Ridge's 28-lot first phase has been on the market for two years. Milne's firm, BGD Holdings Ltd., sold 10 lots prior to the auction, but he said they hadn't sold a single property since March.

The whole Sunshine Coast market has been slow, he added, with many other similar projects in the area around Pender Harbour competing for attention.

New Westminster-based recreational realtor Landquest Realty Corp. is marketing the remaining 13 lots, which are priced between $250,000 and $999,000.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008