Annual San Diego County Auction Nets Record-Breaking Revenue

SAN DIEGO - The county of San Diego's annual auction of tax-defaulted properties took in a record $5.6 million in revenue earlier this month, Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister announced this week.

The auction was conducted online for the first time this year.

"This tax sale auction surpassed our expectations," McAllister said in the Wednesday announcement. "Not only did it help us save on operational costs, but it allowed us to sell far more properties than we have in the past."

Bidders bought 343 properties for a total of $5,613,700. The previous record was $3.49 million from the 2013 auction, when 62 properties were sold.

McAllister said 13 improved properties like homes or businesses were sold, along with 117 unimproved properties and 213 timeshares.

"We wanted to open this auction up to a worldwide audience, and moving it online allowed us to do that with great success," McAllister said. "Our team did a fantastic job finding the right system that makes it easy for bidders to take part in our auctions from now on."

The county is allowed to sell parcels where the owners haven't paid property taxes in five years or more.

Because the county still has more than 1,000 properties to sell -- mostly timeshares -- a second online auction will be conducted July 21-26.

Prospective bidders can begin registering for the sale starting June 21 at sdttc.mytaxsale.com. They will have to put down a refundable $1,000 bid deposit, as well as a non-refundable $35 processing fee to participate.

Minimum bids for the timeshares will be $100.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock