Five tracts of land in Chase, Morris and Pottawatomie counties are being auctioned off in a non-traditional way — both face- to-face selling and online bidding.
The properties are being auctioned off by Purple Wave, an online auction company, and include about 320 acres in Council Grove including pasture, tillable land, hunting land and potential home sites; about 240 acres northwest of Westmoreland in Pottawatomie County (sold in four tracts); about 60 acres south of Westmoreland, including 18 tillable acres and 42 acres of native grass; and about 27 acres in Chase County with a 25-acre lake. The bidding is set to end at 2 p.m. April 1.
Aaron McKee, CEO and founder of Purple Wave, said the trend of showing properties locally and auctioning them off online allows more people to be involved in the process.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest from both agriculture users and recreational users,” McKee said. “This gives us a good venue to allow them both to participate. We have had a good amount of interest in the properties, both locally and out of state.”
“It allows a lot more buyers to be involved in the process. It allows buyers who may not be able to invest the time to be specifically on the ground with this property in the beginning stages to get enough information to be involved in the process.”
Carl Carter of Purple Wave said the auction format is unique.
“One thing that is not typical is the combination of the online and face-to-face element,” Carter said. “It’s not an eBay model. It’s really a case where you have people talking face-to-face out showing the land. The only thing that happens online is the bidding.”
McKee said the properties are getting a lot of interest and the model of selling is successful based on the results. He added that the type of property is in high demand as well.
“We’re really glad to be working with this Flint Hills grassland,” he said. “It’s one of those things we have been specializing in. It’s unique and has a lot of national demand. It’s very attractive to the world. We’re glad to have the opportunity to handle it.”
• To see the properties or to bid go to www.purplewave.com or call (757) 537-5057. Bidding is set to end at 2 p.m. April 1.