AFG Realty Blog

This is one of the most frequently asked questions in our office. In the past, in our area, vacant land tumbled as the housing market fell. It was not uncommon in the late 90’s to have people offering to sell their land on the cheap to raise much needed cash. Today’s market has been very different from the past. Sellers have been holding their price points up and Buyers have been, for the most part, staying away!
Most of our land is either in acreage or infill lots. Most of the past Buyers for these lots are contractors looking to build a “spec” house. The contactor buys the lot, builds the home, sells the home and goes out on the market to purchase one or more lots to start over again. With the slowdown in the construction side of the housing market, contactors are not buying. The other large group of Buyers for vacant land is the end user. This is generally a retiree who picks the land to build their retirement home. This Buyer will pay more for the right location. With the low cost of existing housing on the market, it is not cost effective to build so this Buyer has been purchasing existing homes.
With our largest group of Buyers not buying, it is easy to see that the vacant land market is minimal at best! The following is a breakdown by city:
YUCCA VALLEY
Year to date 15 parcels have sold. The smallest was 0.26 of an acre. The largest was 5.41 acres. The cheapest sold for $4,000. This was a 4.56 acre parcel on the Yucca Grade. The most expensive sold for $55,000. This was a 0.70 acre parcel in Sky Harbor. Most of the sales appear to be infill lots with 3 being over 2 acres. Currently there are 262 parcels on the market with the largest being 320 acres.
TWENTYNINE PALMS
Year to date 29 parcels have sold. The smallest was 0.20 of an acre. The largest was 19.50 acres. The cheapest sold for $4,350. This was a 4.50 acre parcel. The most expensive sold for $80,000. This was a 19.50 acre parcel. Most of the sales appear to be split between acreage and infill with half the lots sold under 2.50 acres and half over. Currently there are 369 parcels on the market with the largest being 120 acres.
JOSHUA TREE
Year to date 14 parcels have sold. The smallest was 0.22 of an acre. The largest was 2.50 acres. The cheapest sold for $2,500. This was a 0.22 acre infill lot. The most expensive sold for $80,000. This was a 2.50 acre parcel on Uphill on the south side of JT. Currently there are 321 parcels on the market with the largest being 320acres.
LANDERS
Year to date 6 parcels have sold. The smallest was 1 acre. The largest was 5.00 acres. The cheapest sold for $5,900. This was a 2.50 acre parcel. The most expensive sold for $30,000. This was a 5.00 acre parcel on Jackrabbit. Currently there are 52 parcels on the market with the largest being 640 acres.
The current market shows over 1132 active listing for vacant land in our area! With only 72 sold year to date!
Needless to say, the market for vacant land is bleak. I expect it to get worse over the next two years as Buyers continue to look at homes for a better real estate investment.

All statistics are from the Desert Communities Board of Realtors Mutliple Listing Service as of this publishing.

Bob Armstrong
Broker
AFG Realty