The 2021 Land Market Survey report, released in April 2022, continues to turn heads as word of the findings spreads. Here is a roundup of some of the media coverage that NAR is tracking (click the headline to go to the full article):

Greenville’s post-Covid land rush driving acreage prices to new heights
It’s not a phenomenon unique to Greenville. Nationally, land sales prices rose 7 percent in 2021, according to the Land Market Survey released in April by the National Association of Realtors and the Realtors Land Institute. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun expects further land price appreciation in 2022, driven by housing needs. In the NAR region covering South Carolina (which stretches from Virginia to Florida), 63 percent of all land sales in 2021 were for residential use, according to the survey.

Texas named top U.S. market for land sales with record-setting 2021
Due in part to its cowboy heritage, Texas boasts lots of wide open spaces. So much so, in fact, that the Lone Star State led all of the states in land sales last year. According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors and the Realtors Land Institute, the five states with the largest shares of land sales in 2021 were Texas (14.6 percent), Florida (12.8 percent), California (6.2 percent), Georgia (5.3 percent), and Arizona (5.2 percent). “Even with rising interest rates, I expect sustained growth in land sales and prices this year, driven particularly by the demand for multifamily and single-family housing needs,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

GlobeSt.com: Pricey Land Market Confounds Developers
The pursuit of land and its price is rising, putting a strain on developers in nearly every market and industry segment. In 2021, the land market had its best year in nearly a decade as sales rose 6% and outperformed the pace of acquisitions of other commercial real estate types, according to the 2021 Land Market Report from the REALTORS Land Institute (RLI) and the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).

RealTrends: Land sales haven’t been this strong in a decade
Land sales saw their best year in nearly a decade in 2021, according to the 2021 Land Market Report from the Realtors Land Institute (RLI) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) released on Tuesday. The RLI defines a and transaction as one in which the value of the land is at least 51% of the value of the transaction. Year over year, land sales rose 6% in 2021, outperforming the pace of acquisitions of other commercial real estate types. In comparison, the dollar sales volume of transactions for commercial real estate properties such as single-family rentals rose 5%, industrial properties rose 4% and apartment buildings rose 2-3% depending on class type. The states with the largest share of land sales were Texas (15%), Florida (13%), California (6%), Georgia (5%), and Arizona (5%). In total, these states made up nearly half (44%) of all land sales in the U.S. in 2021. Not all land sales had a strong year though. Land sold for strip malls, hotels, Class A offices and malls saw decreases in sale volume during 2021, reflecting changing consumer trends. However, in general, prices for land used for office and retail rose nearly 4%. Despite this shift, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun remains optimistic about the land market in 2022. “Even with rising interest rates, I expect sustained growth in land sales and prices this year, driven particularly by the demand for multifamily and single-family housing needs,” Yun said in a statement. “The shift from just-in-time to just-in-case inventory management amid supply chain issues will continue to drive the demand for land for new warehouses. Moreover, agricultural grain prices will remain elevated due to the war in Ukraine and thereby boost demand for farmland.”

NAR report: National land market has its best year in nearly a decade
The national land market had its best year in nearly a decade in 2021, as land sales rose 6% and outperformed the pace of acquisitions of other commercial real estate types, according to the 2021 Land Market Report from the Realtors Land Institute (RLI) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Land sales of RLI and NAR members rose on average by 6% in 2021, the best performance since land sales of members of these associations was collected by surveying the members in 2014. Historically-low mortgage rates in 2021 that drove home sales, the historic net absorption of multifamily and industrial commercial space, and the resiliency of the retail property market arguably drove the demand for land, which is the physical foundation for real estate development. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted in the report that he expects 2022 to remain a good year for the land market. “Even with rising interest rates, I expect sustained growth in land sales and prices this year, driven particularly by the demand for multifamily and single-family housing needs,” Mr. Yun said. “The shift from just-in-time to just-in-case inventory management amid supply chain issues will continue to drive the demand for land for new warehouses. Moreover, agricultural grain prices will remain elevated due to the war in Ukraine and thereby boost demand for farmland.”