One of few undeveloped beachfront properties in Ponte Vedra Beach is coming up for auction.
Miami-based Platinum Luxury Auctions is placing the property at 1331 Ponte Vedra Blvd. on the block June 19 with a $5.4 million reserve.
Trayor Lesnock, founder of the auction firm, is in charge of the sale, for which participants must pay a $100,000 refundable deposit via cashier’s check or the auction bank. The deposit is due by 5 p.m. June 18.
Lesnock has scheduled the auction in a hotel near the property and says in-person bidding is preferred.
“Most are in person, but there are always one or more remote bidders,” he said.
Platinum Luxury Auctions lists the site at 1.48 acres, while St. Johns County Property Appraiser records show it as 1.22 acres.
David and Helen Tucker bought the property in 2018 for $2.3 million. Zillow.com lists the lot as having 150 feet of ocean frontage, with the prepared land 17 to 27 feet above sea level. Cleared space on the property is hidden from the road by a wooded area.
Having an undeveloped lot come up for auction is rare, Lesnock said, as nearly all oceanfront property in Ponte Vedra Beach has been developed.
He said it is more common for buyers who wish to build a new home on the beach to purchase an existing residence and demolish it.
Platinum Luxury Auctions will charge an 11% premium to the winning bidder of the June 19 auction. Lesnock said the premium is used to pay for expenses such as advertising, hotel room rental, staging, brokerage fees to involved Realtors and to pay the auction house.
“I have never earned a full premium,” he said. “At least one real estate broker is paid out of the premium.”
Lesnock said the company’s auctions generally take 15 to 20 minutes.
He said Platinum Luxury Auctions advertises its auctions in a five-week campaign that includes digital, print, television and direct mailings.
It sends emails to 750,000 addresses of potential bidders and buys print ads in what Lesnock calls “blue chip media outlets” like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times.