Real Estate Blog - Did you ever hear the joke about buying swamp-land in South Florida?"....Well the jokes on you!

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Did you ever hear the joke about buying swamp-land in South Florida?"....Well the jokes on you!

I remember back in the 70's when I lived in NY....there was always this talk about the little joke about buying swamp-land in Florida. You know what I'm talking about.....right? I would always hear...."and I have some swamp-land I want to sell you in Florida" Well...if I look back now and if I knew then what I know now....I would have been a millionaire. I have a client who owns about 30 acres around my area. I sold one of his homes a few years ago and after the transaction we became fast friends. After the closing I found out he owned that acreage and I told him that if he ever was interested in selling that I would love to help him.

About 6 months after we talked he called me to let me know that he still wasn't planning on anything but he asked me if I would be interested in selling a small parcel for him. He wasn't even sure I could complete this transaction due to the fact it was a bit of a unique deal.

Here is the deal....he had a neighbor who owned 10 acres next to him. The neighbor owned the land and wanted to either develop it and build about a 10 homes on it. The problem was that he couldn't get to the land unless he flew a helicopter there. Why? ...Because it was landlocked...he had no road access and he was fighting for years with the city to get access. The city could not help him and none of the neighbors would allow access through their properties. There were many agents who were trying to find the missing link but never could find the solution. My broker at the time knew about this land and also couldn't find anyone who would buy it unless there was access. Little did she know but I had the secret. My client had a road and was willing to give access.....but for a price. To make a long story short....I managed to put a deal together with both parties to allow access and the neighbor sold the property to a developer a few years ago for a nice price.

During this time my client was telling me a bit of history about his family and how his late father owned many acres of land around the area. Just to let you know...I live in the everglades and the everglades are considered the swamps. He told me that back in the 60's his father had picked up a few hundred acres for about $500 an acre. Yes...you heard that right... FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS AN ACRE!

At the time were were working together that lands value was at about $500,000 an acre...yes...that's right....FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND AN ACRE! I almost fell off my seat...I was so jealous...I said.....Dam! I was born at the wrong time!...now when people mention that joke I was talking about I start to cringe at what could have been if I knew then what I know now...even though I was too young and wasn't even living here.....I still think about how much land I could have owned here when there was so much to go around. Nowadays there isn't much room. Today as I drive up and down the freeway I see developers buying every little hole...every little blade of grass just to fit some sort of structure on it.

I'm still waiting for the day for my friend and client to call me and say Let's develop the land and sell the parcels off.

Isn't it amazing how much South Florida has evolved since then?

For more information please contact Neal The Real Deal Bloom-Realtor® /Remax Hometown

2500 Weston Road ,Suite 103
Weston FL 33331
(954)608-5556
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Posted by Neal Bloom-Realtor ® Assoc.-CRS-Weston FL on 02/17/2008 08:03 AM

Comments (38)

buying, swampland, florida, acrerage, south florida

Originally posted at: Weston Florida Real Estate Blog, Neal"The Real Deal"Bloom : Did you ever hear the joke about buying swamp-land in South Florida?"....Well the jokes on you!

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38 Comments on Did you ever hear the joke about buying swamp-land in South Florida?"....Well the jokes on you!

FEB

2008

Wanna buy some beachfront property in Arizona? I've got some!

True that. I remember when I was moving from the west coast to Florida and the jokes went on and on about swampland in FL.

I'm thinking, if I was born back then, $500 per acre would have been a lot to save up at the time. Our grandkids will say one day...." 500k per acre... I wish I was born then!!! " lol.

I remember that joke...you don't hear it so much anymore. Now I know why! :)

Just goes to show that today's swampland may become tomorrow's "luxury waterfront".

Kent,

I've been to AZ..I hear I need my own water supply shipped in:)

Anona,

I was just born at the time....I was already thinking rich!:)

Kelly,

Exactly...where did the joke go...maybe to Vegas?

Lenn,

You can't imagine how many people capitalized on that.

Wasn't there a wise man buying up swamp land that no one else wanted near Orlando too? Born at the wrong time...No Kidding!!

Walt bought some swamp land and the rest of his heirs laugh to the bank everyday.

Teri,

Ain't it the truth...born too late!

Bob,

I forgot about that...yes Walt is still laughing in that block of ice!

Okay, now that you know buying swamp land is no joke, how about the Brooklyn Bridge? We've been looking for a taker for years.

I have a few designated wetlands here up for sale...if you are interested. Being the native from Florida I chuckled at the line " Do you wanna buy some swampland in Florida" ..It's still the old saying for many and I hear it very often ! Great post !

In the 1950's, Howard Hughes bought up 25,000 acres on the outskirts of Las Vegas for a reported price of 25 cents an acre and people thought he was crazy. Today, it's called Summerlin where a half acre in The Ridges can get well over $500,000.

Neal - we've got oodles of beach, just envision the waves...rocking your bottle of water back and forth helps!

Wow! In the long term, real estate is always a winner! All too often we look at the short term...and it is like waiting for a pot to boil! Give it time it is still the best investment out there!

Neal, Great post. I remember when I was a kid going out to the strawberry fields (whiched seem like forever to get to) and pic strawberry's with my mother. Now that is called Kendall drive..lol

I look back at how many areas are now valuable that they couldn't give away years ago. I was too smart to buy there back then. LOL

Neal: GREAT story! That is one friend that you need to hold onto--you two develop that land and you can retire! Here, years ago, there was property that I had the opportunity to purchase and I didn't--only to find that about 10 years ago, the land sold for a mint! It was no longer considered 'out of the city' and now, is worth even more! I will say, though, the joke about the swampland--we're keeping it going here in Charlotte! I hear that quite often!

Well hi everyone...I'm back for a short stint....I see we all can tell that some of us missed a golden opportunity. I haven't checked lately but I'm sure the price went down. I remember back in 2002...they were saying about 185-200k for demucked land....I would think the going rate is a lot less than 500K right now but there also isn't much left so I could be wrong...I'll be back when I have time to check the prices.

Did you know that the majority of Waikiki was swamp land? Yup...it's true....and look what they've done!

Hi Neal,
It's all relative...my parents talk about when they first moved to the coast of NC and oceanfront lots were 40,000, they thought that was outrageous. Now try getting one for less than 1 million.

I agree with Cynthia - it is all relative and I think most of us have stories like this one to tell. My family has always had lakefront property all my life on one lake or another but they always seemed to sell it before the boom for lakefront. Talk about the 500 an acre. My brother bought a 75 acre farm with no swamp land whatsoever for $100 an acre. How 'bout that one. That farm now is well into the 1million plus range. It pays to be in the right place at the right time.

Neal -- I guess we all need to look at things with a different set of eyes in order to see opportunity.

I grew up in Miami (Cutler Ridge) and if my parents had bought swamp land out off Krome Avenue from the Redlands to Tamiami Trail....we'd be millionaires too. Back then there wasn't anything called "Kendall". Now they don't even call it Cutler Ridge....it's Cutler Bay. It cracks me up. Life goes on, and technically, there is "only so much dirt" in Florida!

Neal, some people just have that kind of luck. Now is that was me that purchased that land, it would be selling for $50 an acre ........... LOL

You weren't kidding, it was swampland. In some ways I wish our environmental controls were a lot more liberal up here, with out sacrificing lake clarity of course. Can not wait until our seminar is done. The first one every year is about 6 weeks of solid work. then the repeats are just quick variations off of that. Thanks for commenting on a piece of one of the slides.

are you coming to inman connect in reno this summer?

We've joked about swampland in FL for years and will continue to do so, but now every time I hear it I will think of your story. Opportunities are always out there. It just takes a little luck and timing to take advantage of them. Good luck to you.

Neal - I think I recall you writing about the transaction this post starts out with - I have a great story about prices - when I was 18 - I purchase 100 acres for $100 total yep a dollar an acre - I leased the land to a farmer who put a well in for a first right of refusal - when I dropped out of law school - I had a tuition bill of $83,000 so I called the farmer and said I was selling - he paid me $125,000 for the land 20 years later....

FEB

2008

Hi All,

I'm a bit busy so I would just like to thank all the comments coming in.....I can see most agree that if we knew that way back when we would have made a killing we would all be rich!!...not Jacobson.

Gary,

Probably not...I doubt I can fit in the travel...we are supposed to be going to San Diego for a short few days in May and I'm not sure I will even be able to go then as well.

ok if you can read this here are the prices in Davie FL

Neal - Great story! Isn't it amazing what time will do for land values? Thank's for sharing the story!

Best Wishes,

Kelsie
www.TriangleChoiceRealty
www.TriangleBuyerAgent.com

FEB

2008

Kelsie,

Thanks for stopping by to read.

FEB

2008

Hey Neal - it is astounding to me how much Florida itself has changed over the years. And this is another example of that. My family has several similar stories, and so do some of our family friends. As you know, I'm from central Florida - loads of ctirus groves, lake front land, etc......ah if only that was still in the family.........

Ann

FEB

2008

Pretty amazing! I want to buy some swamp land - but at the old prices!

James - I'm with you on that. We could buy it and have Neal develop it for us.....nice tidy profit.

You have any of that for us, Neal?

Ann

want to buy some land in Berks county PA..... great mountain views...

great story

Hey guys...i see some prices in the 200's and higher depending on the location.....How much do you want Ann?

FEB

2008

NEAL - Maybe I should start selling Florida swampland up here. I'll use you as my swampland connection!

Adam,

When I was a kid and moved to Long Island in 1969 it was still potato fields...at least i could have made a killing selling potatoes but I was too young to know the potential.

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