Here’s the recap of this year’s tax sale which began the last Monday in August:

Bidders registered: 152
Parcels for sale: 3,607
Parcels sold: 2,867
Parcels turned over to state: 740
Amount bid: $2,484,336.52
Amount of excess bid: $101,365.91

Hancock County’s annual tax sale wasn’t the largest but it did add more than $100,000 in excess bids to the county’s general fund.

Tax Assessor/Collector Jimmie Ladner said the most interest was in Old Town Bay St. Louis where bidders “went well above what the taxes were. It shows Old Town is recognized as one of the hottest markets in the state.”

Hancock County has a little over 50,000 parcels of land and of those 3,607 were put up for sale. “The 3,607 was the lowest in the last three years,” Ladner said. “I take that as a good sign. It means folks have the money to pay their taxes.” He said during the housing bubble in 2008-2009, as many as 5,200 parcels went to the tax sales.

Of the 3,607 parcels for sale this year, 2,867 were sold and 740 were turned over to the state because no one bid on them. The total sales amount was $2,484,336.52. Of that total, $101,365.91 was excess bids.

“Prior to Katrina the market was hot here and we pushed $100,000 every year,” Ladner said, “It’s the largest excess bid since before Katrina.”

Here’s an example of how excess bidding works: A $100 tax bill sent in December increases by $1 in penalties every month, so by August, the $100 bill increases to $107. A publication fee of $3 is tacked on and now the total bill is $110. Any bid over $110 is considered an excess bid.

Ladner said most excess bids typically aren’t high. “The vast majority of bidders are investment bankers who invest in tax sales. You see a bidding war every now and then, but usually you’re looking at over bids in the range of 10 percent or less.”

Property owners have two years to redeem their property and to do so they have to pay the successful bidder 18 percent per year plus other fees. “A $100 tax bill after a year could be $270 pretty quickly,” Ladner said.