ONLINE HOME AUCTION PAYS OFF.

Byline: GREGORY J. WILCOX Real Deals

E-tailing can be a tough sell in some cases, but not at Calabasas-based Ryland Group Inc., the nation's sixth-largest home builder.

The company recently broke some new ground, so to speak, with an online auction of 14 homes in the Bay Meadows community of San Mateo County. They sold for a collective $10.8 million, an average of $771,300, or $24,217 more than the average asking price.

With these kind of results, look for similar auctions for Ryland projects in the Inland Empire and Orange County areas.

``One reason we tried it up there was to see how successful it would be and if it warranted going into other markets with it,'' said Anne Madison, Ryland's vice president of communications.

The Silicon Valley area is one of the nation's hottest and most expensive markets, so the results are not surprising.

The auction was handled by iBidCo.com. Bidders were prequalified by Ryland Mortgage and provided with a maximum bid amount.

Tom Vetter, iBidCo's founder and chairman, said that this is the first large-scale home sale completed online. Buyers bid without the benefit of models or a sales office, since all the homes are under construction.

Buyers took virtual tours, downloaded color brochures and prequalified for their loans on line.

More than 50 bidders competed for the homes.

And they can consider themselves lucky.

Ryland had 113 homes in the San Mateo development.

Billy Reed, president of Ryland Homes of Northern California, said that there were 2,000 people on an interest list.

``It was kind of what we were expecting,'' he said of the auction results. ``The prices did go up a little bit but there wasn't a huge bidding war.''

Ryland competes in 19 markets across the country.

< BROKER BUZZ:

--Progressive Casualty Insurance Co. has moved its west San Fernando Valley claims office from Woodland Hills to the Johnston Group's Corporate Center office park in Calabasas. The auto insurer leased 9,714 square feet.

Terms are five years for $1.27 million.

The office park is at 26635 W. Agoura Road.

--The Johnston Group has also started a $2 million renovation of two office buildings across from The Promenade at Westlake shopping center.

The company bought the two buildings, formerly called Westlake Corporate Center, and an adjacent lot in 1999.

An 18,000-square-foot office building is planned for the vacant lot and construction is scheduled to start in March.

The transformation of the office park is expected to cost about $17 million.

--Westlake Office Plaza, a fully occupied, 10,000-square-foot office building in the middle of Westlake Village, sold to Anthony Andreoli for $2.2 million. Westcord Commercial Real Estate Services of Westlake Village represented both the buyer and seller, Westlake Office Plaza.

The building is at 2835 Townsgate Road.

--Kinamed Inc. has purchased a 28,828-square-foot industrial building in Camarillo from Biosource Inc.

Kinamed, which designs and manufactures a variety of implant systems for orthopedic, neurosurgery and plastic surgery patients.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

Stuart Scott of Daum Commercial Real Estate Services represented Kinamed, which will relocate from Newbury Park. Doug Shaw and Ken Ashen of CB Richard Ellis represented Biosource.