ZEPHYRHILLS - Investors who planned to build more than 600 new homes next to the Silverado Golf & Country Club no longer will wait for the housing market to turn around.

The owners are selling their property, totaling 181 acres at two projects just off Eiland Boulevard, at an online auction site. Cottages at Silver Oaks was approved for 414 single-family homes. The Preserve at Silver Oaks was slated for 200 town houses.

Reuban Twersky, a sales associate for the auction site www.carltonexchange.com, said the Zephyrhills projects are great investments because they are fully approved for future development and because the loans are not distressed. The Carlton Group has been marketing the parcels for a little more than two weeks.

Twersky said the sellers have set a minimum price and would accept the first legitimate bids they receive on the site. Unlike a traditional auction, there won't be an opportunity to raise the bid.

"It's first-come, first-served," Twersky said. "It creates a real sense of urgency."

The projects were among a slew of housing developments approved during the real estate boom five years ago. By 2006, Zephyrhills had approved the construction of 3,500 new homes in the city limits but only a handful of homes were built. There hasn't been a single new home built in the city limits this year.

City Manager Steve Spina recalls the Silver Oaks plans as being "a little upscale." They were going to have a clubhouse and parks, he said. "I don't know what the price is, but it could be a good deal," he said.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 259-8109.