CHANUTE — Living by the adage, “you can’t make more land,” area farmers and developers turned out in droves Monday to attend the auction of 475 acres owned by the estate of the late Mariam Mih of Chanute.
Deemed “the chance of a lifetime,” by broker Cameron Roth of Vaughn-Roth Land Brokers, Burlington, the land west of Humboldt fetched more than $3 million.
About 80 attended the event, with 14 bidding in person and one over the phone.
The bidding began at $2,500 an acre and quickly escalated to $5,000. As the price increased, the bidders dropped.
Before long, three individuals remained in the final volley of bids.
When the price settled at $5,800 an acre, Charly Cummings, auctioneer, called for a 2-minute break in the action, “to call your banker, your friend or your lovely bride. Then when we come back, this land will have a new owner.”
The bidding resumed in rapid-fire fashion, with the price jumping in non-sensical increments of anywhere from $10 to $100. Soon the cost per acre went from $5,990 to $6,006. And again at $6,100, $6,300, $6,500 and then, “last call, $6,350 an acre!”
Three times, Cummings calls out, “Sixty-three-fifty, 6,350, sixty-three-fifty.”
A pause.
“Hold on,” called out Roth, who was standing amongst the bidders.
“Got it,” he said to a gentleman.
The price was now $6,500 an acre.
And stayed.
The room erupted in applause at the impressive sum of $3,087,500, awarded to an individual who has requested his name not be publicly disclosed until after the official closing on or before Jan. 23, 2024, Roth said.
Prior to the auction, Dr. Alex Mih and his sister, Dr. Cathy Taylor, gave brief remarks about their mother, a longtime educator at Neosho County Community College and to which the majority of Monday’s sale will benefit.
