Land Real Estate On Upward Curve

Rise in Land Sales, Prices Outpaces Commercial and Residential Growth

Land sales rose an average of 6% in 2021, surpassing the sales growth of other commercial and real estate sectors, while land prices rose nearly 7%, second only to the price growth of single-family rental properties, according to the latest Land Market Survey from the Realtors^® Land Institute (RLI) and the National Association of Realtors^® Research Group.

The survey results show that as some economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic began to abate during 2021, the land market continued to thrive as a vibrant part of real estate buying and selling.

“Land continues to shine as a vital asset, a sound investment, and a key part of the overall real estate landscape,” said RLI 2022 National President Dean Saunders, ALC, CCIM. “The upward path of growth we saw in sales and value over the past year demonstrates that land remains of paramount importance for landowners, sellers and buyers alike.”

Lawrence Yun, PhD, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Research for the National Association of REALTORS^®, said, “Even with rising interest rates, I expect sustained growth in land sale and prices this year, driven particularly by the demand for multifamily and single-family housing needs. The shift from just-in-time to just-in-case inventory management amid supply chain issues will continue to drive the demand for land for new warehouses. Moreover, agricultural grain prices will remain elevated due to the war in Ukraine and thereby boost demand for farmland.”

The annual Land Market Survey is a tool for landowners and land real estate professionals in all sectors of the business to use for benchmarking and as an informational resource when conducting business. This year marks the eighth consecutive year that the survey has been conducted to reveal current trends and the ever-changing state of land markets within the industry. The Realtors^® Land Institute has made the full survey results available for free to the public on their website at rliland.com/about-realtors-land-institute/land-markets-survey.

Learn more on our Land Market Survey page here.