CARMEL, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2009) -- Sage Ridge Ranch, a 104-acre ranch with its own citrus grove and vineyard overlooking the Carmel Valley, sold for $1.4 million Saturday, as Alabama-based Albert Burney Auction Company continued its string of successful sales in California's Monterey County area.

"People in this area always seem to respond to an auction of high-quality property, as we've already seen with the sale of Soledad Mountain Ranch in July and today's sale of Sage Ridge. Hopefully, that bodes well for the upcoming sale of seven remaining home sites in Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel," said Warren Ward, president of the auction company.

"The sale of Sage Ridge Ranch exceeded the seller's reserve by 40 percent, and the Santa Lucia home sites will sell at reserves that are as low as 50 percent of the most recent list price," said Ward. In the Sage Ridge Ranch sale on Saturday, the competition came down to two bidders who worked their way up from $1 million to the $1.4 million sale price in increments as small as $25,000.

The Santa Lucia Preserve sale, set for Saturday, Oct. 3, will close out the sale of home sites in the 20,000-acre community, which includes only 300 home sites and a Tom Fazio signature golf course. The sale will close out a five-sale string along the West Coast that also includes upcoming sales of a horse ranch and riverfront land in Canby, Ore., and an estate in Garfield County, Wash.