Upper South Texas continues to steadily appreciate,
with Wilson County becoming a hot spot due to
residential growth centered around Floresville.
Wooded land was hard to come by, as developers are
snapping it up as quicky as it hits the marketplace.
Open farmland showed appeal for subdividers, with
strong demand for 10 to 30 acre tracts within 30
minutes of San Antonio. Few large tracts changed
hands for less than $1,500/acre. A sale of 400 acres
just west of Floresville hit $1,700/acre, and a 750
acre parcel on the San Antonio River to the southeast
checked in at $1,400/acre. Atascosa County, crazed
by the nearby Toyota plant, has hit the ceiling, with
sales of significant parcels topping the $5,000/acre
mark. Southern Atascosa still offered select tracts
for less than $1,600/acre, but the wooded sites with
good access and minerals are headed for the
$2,000/acre benchmark in 2006. Medina County
has awakened, with the driver being San Antonio
commuters looking to raise a horse and/or shoot a
deer. Yancey, once a bargain hunter’s haven, saw
average prices for 500 acre parcels climb to
$1,500/acre with no end in sight. Unfortunately,
many small tract fragmenters have entered that area
with their carving knives sharpened. Though this
activity drives prices up, it also tends to drive perceived
recreational value down, thus it becomes a
double-edged sword for the savvy investor/user.
The summary judgement is clear. South Central
Texas has and will continue to be a strong, active
land market driven by developers and recreational
users. Cattle producers are flexing their muscles as
well, having had several decent years to pay down debts and actually try to accumulate some cash. The
recent drought has dampered some of that enthusiasm,
however. Austin, San Antonio and their satellite
cities continue to explode, with some spillover
now being experienced in the more rural areas,
including Bandera, Junction, Gonzales, Pleasanton
and Hondo, to name a few. We see lots of “irrational
money” coming to Texas trying to participate in this
phenomenon, and there seems to be no end in sight.
Speculation is rampant, and many major players are
waving wads of cash at significant, large parcels of
land, whether they are for sale or not. It’s a good
time to be a seller in South Central Texas, no doubt,
though the explosion is far from over in our opinion.
The factors that have always been positives for
South Central Texas continue to weigh strongly in
the minds of buyers. Cultural diversity, proximity to
Gulf and Mexico, mild climate, scenic beauty, economic
strength, recreational value and the dynamic
markets of Austin and San Antonio continue to be
the primary drivers of desirability. Early 2006 is
finding some increases in the recently-limited supplies
of land for sale. Perhaps this is a foreshadowing
of a slowdown in appreciation, and an indicator
to some of those of you who have been sitting on the
fence that it may just be time to take full advantage
of this favorable situation.
The “waves” continue to ripple, even into West Texas,
where values have tripled in the last two years. The
secret is finding the perfect dip between each wave
in which to invest, then wait for the inevitable rise of
the next wave to come, and locating the perfect apex
of that wave from which to sell. The wave theory
has historically proven to be reliable, not just in
Texas, but all over the country. It will continue to
hold up as long as there is something to stimulate
the next series of waves, which there always has
been in the past.
There are many exceptions to this report, and many
sales have occurred which we have not reported due
to space limitations. Prices within each area
described can very tremendously for a variety of factors,
and we welcome new factual data and your
opinions. You are always welcome to stop by our
office at The Falls, behind the Wal-Mart in Boerne, to
check out our operation. And, we hope that you will
consider our professional services if the need arises,
and we wish you and your family a safe and bountiful
2006 and beyond. |
