Picking up Property for Pennies on the Dollar -- But Which Dollar?

I recently met a gentleman who was looking to pick up raw, undeveloped land for "15 to 20 cents on the dollar."

That is all good and well, I told him. But, I continued, "which dollar are you referring to"?

Was it the dollar of the early 2000s, when land prices were exploding at 25 to 30 percent a year, or the dollar of the last few years , in which the air had gone completely out of the land market?

The land market is recovering, but it is still lagging behind the residential market.

In the early 2000s, the market was driven by new construction, but also by baby boomers purchasing land with an eye towards retirement. Others were buying so they could build a second home.

When the stock market and real estate markets crashed, the retirement segement of the raw land market dried up. New construction halted.

But, we have seen some encouraging signs these past couple of years.

But we still have to decide, when making an offer, which dollar we want to base our offer on.