Auction of Smith Mountain Lake land draws big crowd, as land sells for $6.83 million

ROANOKE, Va., Oct. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Wednesday's auction of waterfront property on Smith Mountain Lake drew big crowds and resulted in a sale of the land for more than $6.83 million. The auction, which attracted approximately 230, was conducted by Woltz & Associates, Murray Wise & Associates and Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company.

"From the beginning, Appalachian Power had made it clear that they wanted to give individuals a chance to compete equally with developers, and this worked out just as they had hoped. We had about 66 registered bidders. Some were bidding on all of the land combined, and they got a lot of competition from a large number of bidders who were seeking individual tracts," said Jim Woltz, president of Woltz & Associates.

Gene Klingaman, executive vice president of Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, said, "We had to add seats to accommodate the crowd, and there were still some standing. There was a lot of excitement in the room. We had a lot of happy people at the end of the day, including the seller and those who got the land they were seeking," he said.

Murray Wise, CEO of Murray Wise Associates, agreed. "Bidders came from nine different states, and they were really getting into it. It was fun to see enthusiastic bidders bumping fists and celebrating," he said.

A developer bought 102 acres of the land for $4,473,000. The rest was purchased primarily by individuals, many of whom were seeking the land as an investment or a place to build homes.

The property, located in the Penhook area of Franklin County, includes 2.7 miles of shoreline and was sold by Appalachian Power.

Appalachian Power Company operates the Smith Mountain Lake Hydro Plant that creates the nearly 600 miles of shoreline touching Bedford County, Franklin County, Pittsylvania County and Roanoke County.

Woltz & Associates is based in Roanoke. Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company is based in Columbia City, Indiana. Murray Wise Associates LLC is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

For more information:
Carl Carter, 205-823-3273

SOURCE Woltz & Associates; Murray Wise Associates; Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company