Posted: Saturday, December 30, 2023
Author: Greg Fay, Founder | Broker | Licensed in MT, SC
Fay Ranches experienced some milestones in 2023, and we continued our thoughtful and strategic growth. We also celebrated our great fortune to live and work on the land, meeting new customers and working and recreating with clients we've known for decades. After 31 years, we're just getting started.
Our strategic alliance with Republic Ranches of Texas has reached 11 years, and it continues to be a valuable alliance for our customers and Fay Ranches. They are great people who do great business. If you need a land broker in Texas, Republic Ranches is your go-to.
Fay Rural Community Foundation executed several projects in small towns across the United States focused on health, education, and the youth of these resilient communities that we believe are the backbone of America. Please donate to FRCF if you want to help rural communities.
We have opened a new office in Charleston, South Carolina, with four agents whose roots run deep in the Low Country with over 50 years of combined experience. Our office is at the Garden and Gun magazine building. Drop by and say hello if you're in the area.
In 2023, we began working in Alaska, British Columbia, Nebraska, Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia and have already listed over $100,000,000 in these breathtakingly beautiful areas.
None of this would have been possible without our incredible team.
Selling land from coast to coast and internationally allows us to see and experience our great country's varying terrain, people, and regional value drivers. Our competent and experienced agents provide local knowledge, and Fay Ranches offers global reach—a powerful combination.
The Strategic Plan at Fay Ranches is focused on continually refining and improving our systems, processes, technology, and standard of practice. We embrace and defend our culture, as outlined in our culture document. Conservation has been our passion since the beginning. Our clients are committed to keeping land working. They are aggregators, not subdividers. These are the pillars that support and guide our growth and success.
Market Update: In 2023, the land market stabilized. This stabilization came on the heels of 2021 and 2022, which were explosive markets for the land industry and were an anomaly.
Statistically, we're not seeing decreased per-acre sold prices in 2023. If you're watching the market, you may be surprised to hear this due to all the price reduction emails from land brokerage companies, including Fay Ranches. These were speculative list prices placed on land in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, hoping the ascending market would continue. Agents and sellers are now adjusting their list prices in response to the stabilization of the market.
The market continues to see demand for quality land priced accurately. We have not seen a drop in values because the inventory of available land from coast to coast is low. The lack of inventory is due to a few factors. Those who purchased land during COVID continue to see the value of insulating their family from the next pandemic and our country's social and political instability. They are holding on to their investment.
Also, due to aggregation and subdivision, there is less land every year, so we've not had a surplus of product and likely never will. The amount of transactions is down due to the lack of inventory. Consequently, we don't see the decrease in value that other real estate industry sectors see (residential and second homes), which is why land is a uniquely stable investment.
When the land market contracts, business concentrates on the most established companies, so Fay Ranches is having an excellent year, and the people who started selling land because the market was strong are leaving the business. The land market is back to normal.
Please call your local Fay Ranches agent for a more in-depth conversation about the land market.
I hope you enjoy Land Investor Magazine. It includes incredible articles by some of the industry's most knowledgeable and experienced land experts.
