I remember in the '70s when Texas Hill Country land developers were commonly referred to as subdividers because they basically purchased a ranch and subdivided it into smaller tracts of land.  The former ranch became known as a subdivision.

The process has not changed but higher land prices and rapid growth of the Hill Country has created a demand for more experienced, well financed subdividers, commonly referred to as developers. What were previously referred to as subdivisions are now referred to as communities.

The emergence of developers and communities brought with it more stringent restrictions and a higher level of amenities to help maintain a certain level of quality and community lifestyle.  Size restrictions set a minimum number of square feet and other building restrictions set the standard of construction quality.

For those seeking less restrictions and fewer amenities, there is an ample supply of vacant subdivision lots availble in the Texas Hill Country at much lower prices compared to the newer community developments. The lower purchase price comes at the expense of an inconsistent level of quality and value within the subdivision.

The Texas Hill Country has received some much needed rain over the past few weeks breaking one of the worst droughts in recent history.  Recent rains have raised the level of Canyon Lake by about 5 feet, leaving it still about 13 feet short of its normal level as of todays post. Hopefully, the drought will serve to remind us the value of a precious resource and will guide us toward better decisions in protecting and preserving our water supply.

As a land buyer's agent, the search for properties is comparable to searching for gold nuggets and when you find that perfect property, the excitement is equally comparable.

It starts with researching available properties that are listed for sale in the community or communities that your client has expressed an interest in purchasing land.  The research provides price points for what has sold and what is available.  A list of potential properties and their location are prepared from that research.

Although the research is essential, nuggets can't be found sitting in front of the computer.  It requires driving to the communities and visually inspecting the properties.  Some properties can be written off by simply a drive by.  Most require getting out of the vehicle and walking the property searching for characteristics of an exceptional building site such as views, trees, slope, soil conditions, and building orientation.

When you find a property with those exceptional characteristics and it is priced either in the market or under the market you have found a gold nugget.  You know it's a nugget in your excitement to share the discovery with your client.

For various reasons, many premier custom home communities do not allow Sellers or their Agents to place For Sale signs on vacant land.  Potential Buyers who are dirving through those communities are unaware which properties are for sale.

Land that is allowed to be marked For Sale is often listed by an agent that does not specialize in land and is not knowledgeable about its unique considerations.  The listing agent also is not typically familiar with the community and alternative properties.

New Community sales persons are typically allowed to show only properties that the developer has in inventory which are not usually included in a multiple listing service inventory of available properties.  To view these properties and obtain prices often involves registering your contact information with the Developer and touring the community through "rose colored glasses" with a community sales person.

Agents that specialize in land are not only familiar with alternative property choices; they are also familiar with alternative communities.  Like properties, communities have distinguishable features such as location, restrictions, amenities, available utilities, and applicable school districts and attendance zones.

Shopping for land through an unbiased agent that specializes in land and is knowledgeable about alternative properties and communities is the best way to counter the  challenges of buying land.

 

To say that real estate is not selling in today’s market and that it is a Buyer’s Market is not totally true. Real Estate is simply not selling at prices that many sellers are willing or able to sell their property.

Any property, given no other circumstances other than market conditions will sell at a given price on any given day. The market value of real estate is simply not as transparent as stocks and commodities that are traded daily on Wall Street.

Although there is an obvious price that any property will sell for on any given day such as a dollar, the highest market value is not that obvious. Exposing the property to a large number of potential buyers as does Wall Street is a necessary but difficult part of the equation.

If the daily market value of real estate could somehow be charted like stocks, we would see that real estate values fluctuate on a daily basis with up and down trends like any other commodity traded on Wall Street.

The bottom line is that the market value of a given property on a given day is the highest price that a buyer is willing to pay and a seller is willing to sell when exposed to an appropriate number of potential buyers.

Given that Sellers more often sell properties out of necessity and that buyers typically have the option to buy or not to buy would lead me to conclude that the real estate market for the most part is always a Buyer’s Market.