More than 150 people attended an auction over the weekend at which the state Department of Lands auctioned off 21 cabin sites at Payette Lake on which renters have built cabins or homes; 20 of the 21 sold to the current renters. The other lot sold for $42,000, or $5,000 above the appraised value of the land; the purchaser also will be required to pay the appraised price for the improvements to the former renter.

The auctions were for the land only; they took in a total of $6.07 million for the state endowment fund, which benefits state institutions including schools. All but three of the lots sold for appraised value to the current renter with no competitors bidding; the competitive bidding on the other three brought in an additional $33,200 over the appraised values. You can read a full announcement here from the state Department of Lands. The renters of the 21 lots voluntarily joined the auction in hopes of getting title to the property under their cabins, though they also risked being outbid; the state is trying to get out of the cabin-site renting business and into more profitable investments for the endowment. The lots auctioned included six on the lakefront.