Gem State Roundup

Idaho Department of Lands sells 10 Priest Lake lots for $24.6 million

By: Anteia Elswick - August 22, 2022 4:00 am

Priest Lake is located in North Idaho’s Bonner County. (Getty Images)

The Idaho Department of Lands announced on Aug. 16 that the state sold 10 endowment-owned lakefront lots on the shores of Priest Lake for almost $24.6 million during a public auction that allowed for remote bidding, according to a Department of Lands press release.

The price of the lots added up to $14 million over the appraised value. One parcel was purchased for $9.8 million, which is 779% over the appraised value, according to the press release. Three of the properties had one bid while the others were competitive, which resulted in a 134% overall increase above the appraised value of the seven competitive bidding lots.

In 2018, the Department of Lands sold 51 state-owned lakefront lots for $25.6 million, which was $625,500 over the appraised value, according to a 2018 Department of Lands press release.

The State Board of Land Commissioners approved a plan in 2010 to sell state-owned cottage sites at Priest Lake and Payette Lake through auctions through 2024 to invest in purchasing other lands in Idaho, including timberland and farmland, according to the release.

A total of 325 Priest Lake lots have been sold in addition to 154 lots at Payette Lake for a total of over $253.2 million in endowments since the approval of the plan.

The money from the sales will go into a Land Bank where it can be used to purchase new endowment land or could go into a permanent fund to continue earning returns for endowment beneficiaries.

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Anteia Elswick

Anteia McCollum is an intern with the Idaho Capital Sun. She will graduate from a the University of Idaho with a journalism degree in December. She has served as a columnist, reporter, photographer, graphic designer and editor during her time at The Argonaut, the UI student newspaper. She also freelances with Project FARE, a nonprofit focused on telling Idaho's food stories. In 2017, she joined the Idaho Army National Guard as a combat engineer and will complete her contract in December 2023. She's an avid outdoor enthusiast with an interest in environmental reporting as a lifelong career. Her hobbies collide with her line of work, including reading, photography, design and some outside activities like backpacking and wandering around the local farmers market.