Higher prices are behind the land boom. The U.S. dollar volume of land sales increased at a stronger pace of 4 percent from October 2016 to September 2017 compared to the prior 12-month period, according to the 2017 Land Market Survey, produced by the REALTORS® Land Institute and the National Association of REALTORS®. Sales on all types of land posted an uptick; residential and commercial land sales grew by the highest amounts. Higher prices drove most of the increased dollar volume in land prices rather than due to higher transactions volume, the report shows. Residential land sales increased 5 percent while commercial land sales rose 4 percent in 2017, according to the report. Sales of agricultural irrigated and non-irrigated land each increased by 2 percent, a reversal from a sales decrease in the October 2016 survey. Agricultural land sales rebounded as commodity prices for livestock, cattle, and grains stabilized after a downfall between 2012 and 2016. The highest bulk of land sales in 2017 were of residential land at 28 percent and recreational land at 21 percent. Respondents surveyed expect an increase in the dollar volume of land sales for all types of land to continue in 2018. The strongest pace is expected in residential and recreational land sales, both forecasted to grow by 4 percent from October 2017 to September 2018.

Source: National Association of Realtors Economic Outlook Blog