WASHINGTON – Dec. 17, 2012 – Fact: Uncle Sam could be considered a real estate baron. The federal government owns and leases more than 3 billion square feet of building space and 900,000 structures.

Not every property, however, is a model of efficiency. A federal review in 2009, for example, found more than 45,000 underutilized buildings – including completely vacant properties – that cost the government $1.66 billion to operate that year.

The Obama administration is moving to sell off some of the surplus, predicting sales could bring in $15 billion over three years. You can see what’s currently up for auction at the General Services Administration website.

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