MARKET
Land Market Continues to Soar!
BY CHARLES E. GILLILAND PH.D.
FIRST QUARTER 2022
Real Estate Center, Texas A&M University
The first quarter of 2022 saw annual sales volume slip -10.90 percent to 7,880 for the four-quarters from 2021 to 2022. Comparing quarterly volumes for the first quarter of 2022 to 2021, quarter only totals dropped from 2,829 in 2021 to 1,664 in 2022, a 41.39 percent slide. However, the 2021 first-quarter total was a 69.09 percent increase over the 2020 volume. This marks the second straight quarter that the number of sales failed to match or exceed the volume for the previous year. Clearly, activity appears to be slowing down. Nevertheless, the 2022 quarter only volume topped 2019 totals by 9.40 percent.
Research Economist
Changes in Rural Land Prices: 2010–2021 30
Percent Change
20
10
0
A continued feverish demand for land evidenced by the legions of would-be buyers contacting brokers, coupled with an absence of available properties for sale, pushed prices up by a remarkable 27.12 percent to $4,116 per acre statewide. Total dollar volume reached a record $3.868 billion, closing up 76.79 percent over the 2021 first quarter. However, that represents a slide from the 97.61 percent increase recorded in the fourth quarter of 2021. A record 939,791 acres changed hands, up 39.08 percent over 2021. These results suggest that the frenzied market of the past two years may be returning to a more muted level of activity at high prices. The typical size expanded 24.43 percent to 1,305 acres. Excepting Far West Texas, where prices slipped slightly, all other regions posted double-digit price increases. In addition, all regions except for Northeast Texas saw increases in total acres transferred. The explosion in annualized sales volume continues to top totals from 2021.
10
| LEGENDARY LIVING
2010
4,500
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Q1-2022
Texas Rural Land Prices: 2010–2021
4,000 Nominal Real or Deflated
3,000
2,000
1,000
0 2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Q1-2022
