“Insatiable Appetite” for Texas Land, with Highest Demand in Central Texas

In the Austin-Waco-Hill Country region, “Brokers have buyers lined up” for land purchases, according to Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University Research Economist Dr. Charles Gilliland. “If you want property in this region, take a number.”

In the third quarter of 2021, Austin-Waco-Hill Country land sold for $5,290 per acre, a 30 percent annualized increase. There were 2,785 sales, an increase of almost 36 percent. Over 160k acres sold, an increase of about 59 percent.

The competition for land means investors, developers, and potential home buyers/builders frequently are vying for the same land. For example, National Land Partners acquired over 8,000 acres in various locations and is breaking them into 10-acre tracts. “Much land has transferred to non-end users, such as investors and speculators.”

He said, “U.S. buyers are coming from as far away as Alaska and as near as Austin, Houston, and Dallas. Meanwhile, investors from India have an insatiable appetite for land near the City of Austin and Williamson County. In many cases, these buyers make offers that exceed asking prices.”

He said small properties sell within days of being listed. “The region’s suburban market is strong as well. Investor activity in eastern Williamson County into Milam County defies fundamentals as investors have run up prices. This has propelled asking prices to record-high levels.” Additionally, “Industrial land in Williamson County has tripled in price overnight. All markets are still escalating.”

Further from Austin, prices are “testing the top of the market,” said a release from TRERC, with typical buyers noted as “wealthy individuals worried about inflation.” One seller was quoted by Gilliland as saying, “I would sell everything I have, but I don’t know what to do with the money.”