For Sharhram Kazemi, good things come to those who wait.

After more than two years of looking and filling out Yukon government lottery applications to buy a new residential lot, Kazemi's name was finally drawn this morning for Lot 806 on Wimze Place in Copper Ridge.

"I just put my name in for fun," a surprised Kazemi said after being informed his application was the first drawn on the one Copper Ridge property available in this morning's land lottery.

"It's a very nice neighbourhood," he said of the subdivision.

Kazemi has put his name into enough land lotteries over the years to know the odds were against him in getting the site that sits near the end of Wimze Place, located in the last phase of the subdivision development.

So he expected that once again, he wouldn't get the site on which he wanted to build a three-bedroom home that's smaller than the 4,000-square-foot house he, his wife and daughter live in now.

He was wrong.

Shortly after 9 a.m. in Room 1A at the Elijah Smith Building, John Cole, YTG's acting manager of lands client services, drew Kazemi's name first out of a red tool box full of the other 19 names of eligible applicants.

He then drew two more names, first Stephen Arrell and than Tiffani Fraser, whose names will be put on an eligibility list in that order for the property if Kazemi opts out of buying it.

After paying a non-refundable $26.25 to enter the lottery and providing the required $300 deposit with his application, Kazemi has until Feb. 4 to enter a sales agreement with the territory.

The 1,033 sq. m. lot is priced at $78,000.

He is also required to pay a $2,500 Development Cost Charge to the city.

He can either pay the full purchase price and five per cent GST to the territory or can pay 20 per cent of the purchase price and five per cent GST, with the outstanding balance paid over five years.

There are also conditions for a two-year building commitment, compliance with city zoning bylaws and a residency clause for one year after the occupancy permit is issued.

The same rules apply to those buying the Whitehorse Copper properties that were also the subject of this morning's lottery.

Although 26 country residential properties in the subdivision off the Alaska Highway were available, only 20 people applied for the lots.

As Cole noted in an interview following the draw, it's fairly obvious there's a greater demand for urban land than country residential.

The Whitehorse Copper sites range from 1.03 hectares priced at $80,712 to 1.7 ha priced at $114,219.

Not all applicants received the site they wanted, with many listing their first choice as Lot 45, a 1.6 ha, $108,546 site off Moranine Drive. It was the first choice of seven applicants.

Norma Davignon was the lucky one whose name was drawn first, so she has first dibs on the property.

As Cole continued to draw names from the second red tool box for the Whitehorse Copper lots, a number of applicants had to go with their second or third choices, or were taken off the list if they were set on getting a particular property.

Terry Bergen, president of the Yukon Real Estate Association, said the number of applications for both the Copper Ridge and Whitehorse Copper properties didn't come as a surprise to him.

"Certainly, country residential has been well-served lately," he said, pointing to the Raven's Ridge, Fox Haven and Whitehorse Copper developments.

The lottery today, he also pointed out, was made up of lots that were turned back from previous successful applicants.

There may also be more lots awarded today that are turned back, Bergen pointed out.

In many cases, a number of family members will apply for lots in the same lottery to strengthen their chances of getting the property they want.

While the situation may put some properties for sale over the counter at the lands branch beginning tomorrow, Bergen said it is nowhere near the 200 lots the city and territory have committed to having available at any one time.

It will likely be another two building seasons before any new lots are put on the market, he believes.

"It's going to be very difficult for the construction market," he predicted.

The next lot availability will likely come with the Ingram subdivision development next to Arkell.

However, there still remains a question of how much those lots will cost, he said.

Also unknown is whether there will be any buyers for the properties which are small compared to other residential lots around town.

"The market will tell," Bergen said.

For now, the lands branch will have the properties no one applied for in Whitehorse Copper available for sale over the counter beginning tomorrow.

If applicants turn back the lots their name was drawn for, those sites would also be sold over the counter, Cole said.