The current Driggs 160 sale already places Bottles at the center of the transaction
Idaho's official state-land-for-sale page lists the Driggs 160 with a $5 million reserve and sends potential bidders to Bottles Real Estate Auctions for more information.
The listing makes the brokerage brand the public-facing private market layer attached to the state trust-land auction.
The brokerage layer packages the public asset
When a state land agency turns a public parcel into saleable inventory, the brokerage layer does more than answer the phone. It frames the asset, markets the opportunity, manages bidder attention, and becomes the visible bridge between state policy and private acquisition.
A recurring broker on state-land sales is part of the transaction structure that turns a public asset into a private market event.
The firm openly markets its government ties and scale
Bottles Real Estate Auctions says Mark Bottles started his first Idaho brokerage in 1996, has brokered more than $4 billion worth of real estate, and has earned the trust of large landholders, banks, and governmental agencies. Its team page publicly lists Mark Bottles as principal and broker and Jacob Bottles as principal and agent.
The firm's public pitch includes scale, government-facing experience, and repeated transaction credibility.
Official sale documents define Bottles as the state's agent, not a neutral observer
The Idaho Department of Lands auction terms posted on the Bottles site say Bottles Real Estate Auctions acts as agent for seller for the State Board of Land Commissioners through IDL.
Idaho's historic commercial-property page says the Land Board uses local real estate brokers to assist IDL in marketing and auctioning public property sales.
The same broker keeps recurring in Idaho's public-land sales
Official Idaho materials and sale pages show the Bottles name handling or hosting state land auction work across 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, and the 2026 Driggs 160 listing.
That recurrence identifies who Idaho repeatedly trusts to turn state land into market inventory.
The current record is already a staffing and contract file
The public record identifies Bottles Real Estate Auctions as a recurring private middleman on Idaho public-asset sales, including the Driggs 160 listing now drawing local attention.
It also identifies Mark Bottles as a public adviser to the Land Board on sale strategy in past high-profile cases such as Cougar Island.
Sources & records
Reviewed by Standards Review. Updated April 13, 2026.
- Idaho State Land For Sale - Driggs 160 Listing
Official Idaho Department of Lands sale page listing the Driggs 160 with a $5 million reserve and sending bidders to Bottles Real Estate Auctions for more information.
- Bottles Real Estate Auctions - About
Firm page listing Mark Bottles as Principal/Broker and Jacob Bottles as Principal/Agent.
- Bottles Real Estate Auctions - Home
Firm page saying Mark Bottles has brokered more than $4 billion in real estate since starting his first Idaho brokerage in 1996 and that the firm has earned the trust of large landholders and governmental agencies.
- IDL / Bottles Auction Terms Sample
Auction terms describing Bottles Real Estate Auctions as agent for seller for the State Board of Land Commissioners acting through Idaho Department of Lands.
- IDL Historic Commercial Property Sales
Official Idaho page explaining that the Land Board uses local real estate brokers to assist IDL in marketing and auctioning public commercial-property dispositions.
- IDL Remote Participation Release - 2022
Official release saying Corbett Bottles would host live IDL auctions while incorporating Proxibid remote bidding for the 2022 Priest Lake cottage-site auction.
- 2021 Land Board Meeting Materials
Official materials quoting a presenter describing Corbett Bottles as the primary broker used by IDL to develop the lake-lot sales.
- Associated Press / KIFI - Cougar Island sale
AP report saying Mark Bottles handled real estate auctions for the Land Board and publicly advised the state on selling Cougar Island as one exclusive asset.
- Priest Lake lot auction example
Example Bottles listing stating the firm would auction Priest Lake Area Endowment Land cottage sites for Idaho Department of Lands in August 2025.
- Payette Lake lot auction example
Example Bottles listing stating the firm would auction Payette Lake Area Endowment Land cottage sites for Idaho Department of Lands in August 2024.
