Mike Browning

Tag: land market

  • It Changes Faster Than You Think

    It Changes Faster Than You Think

    Stay on top of things, even when it seems pointless.

    It’s hard to believe it’s been almost 20 years, but the 2008 financial crisis was really tough on the real estate business. Lending standards changed (rightly), values were down, and people were scared.

    As we started to climb out of it, there were plenty of available lots in outlying areas (which are booming suburbs today).

    The problem was that even at much lower lot prices than we see today, a deal wouldn’t work. Even if the lots were free, the house wouldn’t appraise high enough to make the necessary financing work.

    Along about 2011, a builder asked me to canvas the market in a town for them. There were about eight subdivisions with substantial available lots. Not a single house being built in any of them.

    The lot prices weren’t objectively terrible. The deals just wouldn’t work in the financing environment.

    So we moved on. Found some things in another town that fit their business model and, more importantly, would work for the buyers and lenders.

    But a few months later, I drove through those same subdivisions and there were building programs in every one of them. The market changed slightly in a couple of ways, and what was a non-starter just weeks before was a no-brainer.

    If you own land, it only makes sense to stay on top of the local market.

    Even if you’re not looking to sell, if someone shows up with a check for 30% above what you think it’s worth, you’d probably consider it.

    But what if they know something you don’t?

    About a new development. Utility capacity that’s coming. Something else happening nearby.

    And what you think is someone overpaying is really you selling too low?

    The MBR Land Reality Check helps with that.

    Current sales, what’s happening around the property, and other factors that could affect what a reasonable buyer might pay today.

    Useful information whether you’re in the market to sell today or not.

    No pressure to list, and no charge.

    Does it make sense to know where you stand?

    Check it out here.

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  • It’s Probably Not Time Today

    It’s Probably Not Time Today

    Or maybe it is, but the smart thing to do today is the same.

    From what I’ve seen, the land market around here has been moving mostly sideways for about three years now.

    With acreage it’s hard to do an apples-to-apples comparison because every tract is different. But I’ve seen it with custom home lots, where the exact same lot has sold more than once over the past few years.

    From 2020-2022, rapid appreciation. Since then, basically the same prices, But much less activity overall.

    The usual explanation is that interest rates are higher and that’s slowing down development and investment. Or uncertainty about wars and geopolitics.

    Those are both probably part of it, but I think there’s sort of a musical-chairs aspect to it as well.

    There was a growing subset of land investors who would buy tracts, sell at a profit when new investors came along, buy something else, rinse and repeat.

    Until the new guys stopped showing up.

    Some of them are now trying to sell things they may have overpaid for, and so far they haven’t been willing to bite the bullet.

    Some of that probably needs to work its way through the system before things really start moving again.

    And with agricultural valuation, debt-free land can be relatively inexpensive to carry. So owners who don’t need to sell can, and probably will, wait out the market.

    So it’s probably not time to sell today.

    That doesn’t mean it’s not time to know where you stand.

    Things can change fast, and getting your ducks in a row now pays off. You’re not scrambling at the last minute.

    The MBR Land Reality Check gives you a clear-headed review of where things stand for you today, with actual sold comps and other information that puts you ahead of the game.

    You’re not deciding to sell and there’s no pressure. You’re just giving yourself permission to look.

    You can do that below.

    Of course, you could be someone who needs to sell sooner. Loan coming due, estate issues, you found a better opportunity, or whatever.

    If that’s you, the course of action is the same.

    Get the MBR Land Reality Check and go from there.

    Get it here

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  • What Do You Expect For Nothing?

    What Do You Expect For Nothing?

    Sometimes quite a bit.

    Free has a reputation.

    Usually it means automated. Generic. A teaser designed to get your phone number so somebody can call you and start selling.

    So I understand if that’s what you expect when I tell you the MBR Land Reality Check is free.

    It’s not.

    Each one is prepared manually. I look at the property, recent comparable sales, what’s currently happening in the surrounding market, and the things that could affect what a reasonable buyer might actually pay today.

    Then I put it together as a Broker Opinion of Value so you can see the information behind my opinion, not just the number itself.

    Could I charge for that? Probably.

    I’ve had people tell me I’m crazy not to.

    Maybe I will eventually.

    But I don’t today.

    You’re probably not ready to sell. And that’s great.

    But if you look at most of the land on the market, many of those sellers were saying the same thing not long ago.

    Things change. Sometimes quickly.

    Getting a handle on where you stand doesn’t mean you’re going to sell. It’s just being ahead of the game.

    And you’ll get no pressure from me. I only want to work with people who are ready. If I have to talk you into it, it’s not a fit. For either of us.

    Is it a bad idea to have current information?

    It’s still free. For now, anyway.

    Check it out here.

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  • The Gas Price People

    The Gas Price People

    It doesn’t pay to worry about the price of something you have to buy no matter what.

    Since I’m out looking at land all over DFW, I drive more miles than most people do in a month. And I don’t drive a Prius, I drive a pickup. Not one of the giant, jacked-up models, but I’m still not winning any awards for conservation.

    So if anyone should be paying attention to gas prices it should be me. But I don’t. But that doesn’t prevent others from telling me about the latest moves.

    You know the type. They watch the price board every time they pass a station. They’ll drive ten miles out of their way to save three cents a gallon. Burn more gas than the savings they get. They text their spouse: “Buc-ee’s in Melissa is at $3.09 right now.” The gas price conversation comes up at dinner like they’re tracking a stock.

    But think about it. Say prices jump twenty cents a gallon. My truck takes about 26 gallons. That’s five dollars more per fill up. Five bucks. The mental energy some people spend tracking that number, recalculating, stressing, and comparing costs more than five dollars. Probably a lot more.

    As a wise man once said: he who knows the price of everything knows the value of nothing.

    And that’s the real problem. When you’re focused on what something costs, you stop thinking about what it’s worth.

    Landowners do this too.

    Not with gas prices. With phone calls.

    They’ve been sitting on a piece of land, could be a hundred acres, could be forty, and every so often they wonder what it’s worth. What’s been selling nearby. Whether the market shifted. Whether now’s the time or not.

    But they don’t do anything about it.

    They’ve decided that the cost of checking is too high. Not in money. Something worse: the pressure. The pitch. The agent who’s going to spend forty-five minutes making it real estate conversation instead of land conversation, then follow up every two weeks until they finally block the number.

    So they wait. And while they’re waiting, they’re not getting the information they’d need to make a good decision when the time comes.

    That’s the real cost. And it’s not five dollars.

    Here’s what I’d ask you to think about.

    What if you knew ahead of time that the pressure thing wasn’t going to happen? If I promised you the conversation was just going to be information, that I wasn’t going to push, that you reach out and end up with a clearer picture and nothing more, would it still make sense to wait?

    Of course anyone can promise no pressure. But don’t take my word for it, hear it from people who actually got a Land Reality Check:

    “The information was helpful by providing market information. I did not and do not feel pressured to take any action. The information provided serves as a baseline for the market value of the property.”

    — Mary G., Frisco

    “How quickly I received a response that was so full of detailed information that I never would have known to even think about.”

    — Lisa H., McKinney

    “I was amazed at all the info I received. For free.”

    — Barbara K., Denison

    The value of knowing what your land is worth doesn’t go away because you’re not planning to sell today. If anything it goes up, because the people who make good decisions on land almost always understood the market before they needed to.

    The cost you’re worried about? It doesn’t exist here.

    PS- You’re probably not looking to sell today. And that’s great.

    But is it a bad idea to know where things stand?

    That’s what the MBR Land Reality Check is for. Sales data, competing listings, development pressure, the factors that affect value that you can’t see from the road.

    No pressure. No drama. Just valuable info to use when you’re ready. If ever.

    Get Yours Here

    PPS-Not ready for that yet? You can sign up below and just read. Land, markets, negotiation. No pitch.

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