An Abundance of Land

A recent development from the real estate swoon in North Atlanta has been an increase in the availability of quality land available for purchase - whether it be through the combination of multiple lots in an "in-progress" developments, or privately owned land that is now available for sale.  Because land in many areas of North Georgia is "generationally owned" meaning the cost basis for the owner is extremely low, there is generally less urgency for the owner to immediately sell, thus the pricing has stayed within a reasonably narrow range. 

That said, in the last several years, the quality land that has come available has almost immediately been scooped up by large scale developers.  With developers now facing an inventory overhang for their available land lots, developer purchases of raw land has slowed significantly and thus the private land that has come available on the market in the past 9-12 months has largely remained available.

Further, for developers that are in early phases of large luxury developments, there is an increasing amount of flexibility for combining land lots at discounted values.  Optimal lot combinations that would not have been available in prior years are now very much open to discussion.  Securing an optimal lot selection at a discounted cost basis in the early phases of a luxury development has historically been a tremendous investment.

While certain trends in home construction may come and go, land is certainly enduring, and demand for quality land in areas with solid long term demographic trends will almost certainly remain strong over the long term.  For those with an eye for long term investment and who prefer privacy for their primary residence or second home, now is the best market in years for private land purchases and custom home construction.

www.artisancustomestates.com