How to Know If You're Getting a Fair Offer for Your Vacant Land

What you will learn:

• How vacant land is valued (and why it's different from houses)

• What factors affect your land's market value

• How to research comparable sales and evaluate any offer

Whether you received an offer from Friendly Acres Land or another buyer, you're probably wondering the same thing: "Is this a fair price?"

It's one of the most important questions you can ask, and I'm going to give you the tools to answer it yourself. My goal isn't to convince you our offer is perfect—it's to help you make an informed decision.

Why Vacant Land Is Hard to Value

If you've ever sold a house, you know how valuation works. A realtor pulls comparable sales from your neighborhood, adjusts for square footage and features, and arrives at a market price. It's relatively straightforward.

Vacant land doesn't work that way.

Every parcel is unique. Unlike houses in a subdivision that are nearly identical, land varies wildly in terms of access, topography, soil quality, views, and zoning. A 10-acre parcel with road frontage might be worth five times more than a similar-sized parcel with no legal access.

Sales are infrequent. Houses in your neighborhood might sell every month. Vacant rural land in your area might sell once or twice a year, making it harder to find truly comparable sales.

Buyers are harder to find. There's a much smaller pool of people actively looking to buy vacant land compared to residential homes. This affects both pricing and time on market.

All of this means valuing vacant land requires more research and interpretation than valuing a house.

Factors That Affect Your Land's Value

When evaluating any offer, consider how these factors apply to your property:

Access: Does your land have road frontage, or is it landlocked? Deeded access via an easement? The difference can be substantial. Land without legal road access is significantly harder to sell and worth considerably less.

Utilities: Is there power at the property line? Water availability? Septic-approved? The more infrastructure in place, the higher the value.

Topography: Flat, buildable land is worth more than steep or rocky terrain. Land with a mix of flat and rolling topography often commands premium prices.

Location relative to amenities: Distance to towns, paved roads, lakes, or recreational areas matters. Land an hour from civilization is worth less than similar land 15 minutes from a growing town.

Zoning and restrictions: What can you legally do on the land? Residential building? Agriculture? Commercial use? Restrictions from HOAs, conservation easements, or local ordinances all impact value.

Size: Interestingly, per-acre price often goes down as parcel size increases. A 1-acre lot might sell for $10,000 per acre, while a 100-acre ranch might sell for $3,000 per acre.

Market conditions: Is your area experiencing growth? Are people moving in or moving away? Local economic conditions affect land values significantly.

How to Research Comparable Sales

Here's how to do your own homework on your land's value:

Start with county assessor records. Visit your county assessor's website and look up your property. The assessed value is a starting point, but understand that assessed values are often outdated and may not reflect true market value.

Search recent land sales. Look for sales of comparable vacant land in your area within the past 1-2 years. Focus on parcels with similar characteristics—size, access, zoning, and location. Websites like LandWatch, Land And Farm, and Zillow can show you asking prices, but actual sale prices are more valuable.

Contact a local realtor. Call a realtor who specializes in land sales in your area and ask for a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis). Most will provide this for free, hoping to earn your listing. This gives you professional insight into what similar land has sold for.

Consider the listing vs. sold price gap. Land often sits on the market for 1-2 years, and final sale prices are frequently 10-30% below asking prices. If you see land listed at $50,000 in your area, it might actually sell for $35,000-$40,000.

Adjust for differences. If you find a comparable sale, adjust mentally for differences. If that parcel had power at the street and yours doesn't, subtract value. If yours has a pond and theirs didn't, add value.

What Does "Fair" Actually Mean?

Here's where it gets subjective. A "fair" offer depends on what you're comparing it to:

Compared to retail market value: If you're comparing our offer to what you might get listing with a realtor and waiting for a retail buyer, our offer will likely be 30-50% lower. That's the discount we need to compensate for paying cash, closing quickly, and holding the property long-term.

Compared to realtor commissions and carrying costs: If you listed with a realtor at retail price, you'd pay 6-10% in commissions, continue paying property taxes during the listing period (often 1-2 years), and risk the buyer's financing falling through. Factor those costs into your calculation.

Compared to your alternative of doing nothing: If you've been paying property taxes on land you'll never use, and you'd rather have cash than continue that expense, our offer might be more valuable than it first appears.

Compared to your emotional attachment: If you inherited the land from a family member, there might be emotional value that no offer can match. That's legitimate and worth considering.

Red Flags to Watch For

While evaluating offers, watch out for these warning signs:

Buyers who won't let you do your research. Pressure tactics and artificial urgency are red flags. Legitimate buyers will give you time to think and research.

Offers that seem too good to be true. If someone offers you 90% of retail value with cash and a quick close, be skeptical. There might be hidden fees or bait-and-switch tactics coming.

Requests for money upfront. Never pay a buyer to purchase your property. Legitimate buyers cover their own due diligence costs.

Vague or confusing terms. If you don't understand the offer or the contract language is unclear, ask questions or have an attorney review it.

Our Approach to Pricing

At Friendly Acres Land, here's how we determine our offers:

We research comparable sales in your area, assess the specific characteristics of your property, and make an offer that allows us to purchase the land, hold it long-term, and still run a sustainable business.

Our offers are typically below retail market value. We're upfront about that. In exchange, we provide cash, certainty, and simplicity.

We're not offended if you want to research other options. In fact, we encourage it. Sell to us, list with a realtor, sell to another buyer—whatever makes the most sense for your situation.

Questions to Ask Any Buyer

Before accepting any offer, ask these questions:

• Are you buying with cash or financing? (Cash means more certainty)

• What's your timeline to close? (Faster closings have value)

• Are there any fees I'll need to pay? (There shouldn't be)

• Can I see proof of funds? (Legitimate buyers can provide this)

• What happens if title issues are discovered? (Understand who pays to resolve them)
  

The Bottom Line

A fair offer is one that meets your needs, not just a specific price point. For some sellers, the highest possible price is essential. For others, speed and simplicity matter more.

Do your research. Talk to realtors. Consider your alternatives. And then make the decision that's right for you.

If you have questions about our offer or want to discuss your property's value, we're happy to walk you through our analysis. Transparency is part of how we do business.

Want to discuss your property's value? Contact us at joshua@friendlyacresland.com or reach out via the information on your offer letter.