I see where you are coming from but there is no guarantee prices will go back down. A lot of people think they will and at one time I did too. But the only way prices are going to go down is for supply to increase and only way for supply to increase is for people to start selling which may not happen unless there is a big jump in unemployment.
First World Problem - Would You Buy Land Right Now??
- Thread starter blb078
- Start date
Straight Arrow
Well-known member
Yep, buy it and enjoy it. Otherwise, you will be lamenting with the "woulda, coulda, shoulda" regretfulness forever.
rjthehunter
Well-known member
If you're going to keep it for a few years or more, buy it. It's not going to depreciate.
Here's a graph for farmland over the years.
www.statista.com
Here's a graph for farmland over the years.
U.S. farm real estate: average value per acre 2025| Statista
In 2025, the average value of U.S.
www.statista.com
Buy it, get to know the neighboring large ranchers and be a good neighbor.
You can sell down the road if not for you.
One of the larger ranches will buy it if you don't I bet.
You can lease grazing or haying rights for the ag tax break.
Upkeep on your house would be key though, they don't sit well unattended over long periods of time.
The land would be yours as long as you want it, a guided hunt lasts what a week.
There is a great since of accomplishment when you raise mature wildlife and get to take it.
The land would also be there for your kids or grandkids one day.
You can sell down the road if not for you.
One of the larger ranches will buy it if you don't I bet.
You can lease grazing or haying rights for the ag tax break.
Upkeep on your house would be key though, they don't sit well unattended over long periods of time.
The land would be yours as long as you want it, a guided hunt lasts what a week.
There is a great since of accomplishment when you raise mature wildlife and get to take it.
The land would also be there for your kids or grandkids one day.
SAJ-99
Well-known member
There was a thread with a member selling a plot around Bozeman I think. Everyone thought that plot was expensive, but opinions vary. If I remember correctly, the same member also had land in NM or AZ that he implied wasn't doing great as far as valuation. Real estate is tricky. Cash on cash investment returns can vary from great to terrible with the median being about that of an investment grade bond. As they say, location, location, location. Sounds like most the value will come from your enjoyment and you can afford it. From what you describe, it should hold its value. It may help if you can generate a little cash from it from grazing or haying rights. Good luck.
I've bought (7) farms in the last +/-35 years, several of which are primarily recreation / hunting ground with some crop ground to generate some income, pay taxes, etc.
If it's a piece you really want, then you had better act swiftly. In most cases you will only get a chance to buy that piece of ground once in your lifetime. If you lose it now, you'll probably never get another chance.
It's not going to go down in value unless it's ridiculously priced. Start with a lowball offer, you can always go up in price. So long as you don't owe a bunch on it and haven't overpaid a bunch for it, real estate can usually be sold relatively quickly and turned back into cash in the event your plans change.
Having said the above, recreation ground is a "toy" just like boats, motorcycles, airplanes, etc., except in this case it tends to increase in value over time. I don't recommend borrowing for toys and would not do it if it put other areas of my financial security at any type of risk.
If it's a piece you really want, then you had better act swiftly. In most cases you will only get a chance to buy that piece of ground once in your lifetime. If you lose it now, you'll probably never get another chance.
It's not going to go down in value unless it's ridiculously priced. Start with a lowball offer, you can always go up in price. So long as you don't owe a bunch on it and haven't overpaid a bunch for it, real estate can usually be sold relatively quickly and turned back into cash in the event your plans change.
Having said the above, recreation ground is a "toy" just like boats, motorcycles, airplanes, etc., except in this case it tends to increase in value over time. I don't recommend borrowing for toys and would not do it if it put other areas of my financial security at any type of risk.
I have been thinking about what I posted last night and I hope that what I posted didn’t sound negative. If you are going to spend 7 figures on land I would think that you should love the property and not have any reservations. My thought is that you could have buyers remorse just after signing the papers.
I don't have reservations about buying it, it's more about what will happen over the next couple years which no one really knows the answer to. My concern is buying it now for X and it being worth X minus 20% over the next 1-2-3 years. It's more the covid run up that I have reservations about. I guess in the end it all goes up eventually even if you bought weeks before the 08 crash started and held to now you'd of made out pretty darn good.
I heard one time to set a period of time to pray and if at the end of the set time and then you still do not have a clear answer then do the hardest thing. In this situation I don’t know if the hardest thing is to buy it or walk away.
Justindrader
Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2020
- Messages
- 33
This shows about a 5% return on investment annualized. Nothing that really builds wealth if it’s just a tick above inflation. But I get it- we all like land. I’m willing to own some even if it’s not a great financial return. But comparing it to a cd at 5% with zero risk is worth thinking about. There’s the financial side, the emotional side, and what your goals are at the time that all go into your decision to buy or sell something.If you're going to keep it for a few years or more, buy it. It's not going to depreciate.
Here's a graph for farmland over the years.
U.S. farm real estate: average value per acre 2025| Statista
In 2025, the average value of U.S.
BigHornRam
Well-known member
We are all playing with monopoly money right now anyway. If you got the cash and like the property, pull the trigger.
Purchased our first 100 acres for $750/acre in 1989 which was about the going price at the time.
This ground has earned +/- $10,000 per year every year ($350,000), it's now easily worth 10X or $7,500/acre, plus we've lived on the place the entire time.
Maybe not a get rich quick scheme, but way better than we could have ever done with a house in the burbs, plus a whole lot more fun and you can shoot guns and pee in the yard.
This ground has earned +/- $10,000 per year every year ($350,000), it's now easily worth 10X or $7,500/acre, plus we've lived on the place the entire time.
Maybe not a get rich quick scheme, but way better than we could have ever done with a house in the burbs, plus a whole lot more fun and you can shoot guns and pee in the yard.
44hunter45
Well-known member
Every time I look at those piece of land I did not buy, I see I should have done whatever I could have done to get them.
If there is a dip in the market, it is only that; a dip.
Even if you don't run cows on this yourself, don't overlook the potential grazing income. If you plan to be a remote owner, trading grazing rights for fence maintenance and such can be well worth it if you get the right partners.
If there is a dip in the market, it is only that; a dip.
Even if you don't run cows on this yourself, don't overlook the potential grazing income. If you plan to be a remote owner, trading grazing rights for fence maintenance and such can be well worth it if you get the right partners.
Gut Shot
Well-known member
I wouldn't be buying now if I didn't have the cash to do it. Commodity prices are down and interest rates are up (though still not really bad). This effects CAP rate and ROI enough for me to say I'd hold off for a while in farm country. I've seen prices for a couple of productive farms bring prices less than expected and would expect that trend to continue (I don't have a crystal ball and that's just a guess on my part).
Just what I would do, your situation may be (almost certainly is) different than mine.
Just what I would do, your situation may be (almost certainly is) different than mine.
Yetified_Mayhem
New member
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2023
- Messages
- 8
Land I will absolutely buy! I do think some crapper houses need to pullback in price, but demand is there. Hard assets over paper, especially with the debt our gov has rung up, and seeing foreign banks/countries pulling out of our debt and buying gold. We really need this AI boom to float our economic growth to keep us going. Bury gold and ammo on that land
As others have said - land prices don't go down in the long term. Ones near an overheated city might - if the city pulls a Detroit, or 90% of the workforce goes full-time remote within a single year. So local housing looses it's main appeal and thus value. But land in the mountains, with gorgeous views - when would a land like that ever lose it's value? Only if the area itself is damaged somehow. I.e. a major wildfire, or earthquake, or some Chernobyl goes off nearby :-(
Straight Arrow
Well-known member
All that and they aren't gonna make anymore land "close to the mountains, has a year round creek, pond, good views," so snatch it up or likely you'll wish you had.
Good luck!
