The Way Home Ranch, located just east of Olalla, was auctioined off on Saturday.
Nine hundred participants showed up for the auction, the third one in B.C. this year for Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers.
A good part of Keremeos and area population was represented at various times during the day as the auctioneer van made its way down the rows of merchandise lining the fields of the picturesque ranch property. Hundreds of cars lined a makeshift parking lot in a hayfield.
Members of the Grist Mill Society were also present at the event, supplying and operating a concession stand that was acting as a fund raiser for the Grist Mill.
The 212 acre ranch, along with two mobile homes and a vast assortment of equipment including tractors, excavators, recreational vehicles, agricultural equipment and a vast assortment of miscellaneous pieces were auctioned through a six hour period on November 19. The real estate portion of the ranch sold for $800,000 to a buyer out of Lethbridge.
“It’s going very well,” said Tyler Ruttan, Area Manager for Ritchie Auctions midway through Saturday afternoon. The company fielded a team of roughly 20 for the Olalla event, which ran with speed and efficiency.
“People are here from the prairies and south across the line. Everything is sold, as it’s a completely unreserved auction.
We are excited to be back in B.C.”
Ruttan said that demand for unreserved auction action was growing in the province.
“It motivates people,” he said by way of explanation as to why sellers chose to auction their property instead of listing it.
“People anticipating an auction get their finances in order, knowing that everything will sell in a single day. The seller generally ends up with more money.”
Ruttan noted that many people think that sellers revert to auctions as a way to sell their property as a last resort - but that isn’t the case.
“We hold hundreds of auctions across Canada,” he explained, “Auctioning allows people to get cash for their assets in a timely manner.”
Ritchie Brothers hold auctions on site or at permanent locations in Alberta and in Chilliwack.
“We’d like to thank British Columbians for having us in the Similkameen for our third time in B.C. this year,” Ruttan said.