Real Talk!

Following up on yesterday’s number crunching, I had to get the stats on sales of vacant land.

I know that I’ve mentioned it before, because it’s a true story… many years ago, I worked with a gentleman who was crazy for statistics. At one sales meeting, he said
“Stop listing vacant land. We have enough listings to last over sixty years.” Boy, did he overlook the “changing” part of trends.

In the past five or six years, vacant land (acreage, especially) has been bought up!

Land, particularly acreages and anything with mature trees, a pond or river or stream, is hard to come by these days. When a listing comes up, Realtors ® scramble to call their contacts and a good listing is sold, pronto.

According to the Bancroft District Real Estate Board database, in 2006 (between January 1st and May 24th) there were 66 vacant land properties sold- with an average sale price of $21,615.51. In that same period, this year, there have been 46 vacant land property sales with an average sale price of $22,417.74. A small increase- about 2 ½ percent.

In 2006, the lowest priced sale of vacant land was the York River lot for $4,900 (I mentioned it, yesterday, in the blog about waterfront prices). In 2007, the lowest priced sale for vacant land was $9,500 for a building lot, in an outlying area.

Listings for this type of property are fewer and farther between. Following waterfront properties, acreages are high on the wish list of many prospective Buyers. It is no secret that a well-forested acreage is a great investment and the potential for a very private retirement home is excellent, too.

If all of the economic predictions are correct, we are going to experience an increase in prices in the vacant land sector. And why not? People who crave privacy, peace & quiet, who are also water enthusiasts can dock a boat at the marinas on larger lakes; for a nominal fee (compared to taxes on waterfront property) and enjoy the best of boating/swimming and fishing- without the crowding, environmental concerns and noise!

Timing is everything, though… and with the reduced number of properties coming available on the market, a smart Buyer will have a good Realtor ® working for them and will be ready to make a quick decision!