Somebody at work was looking for a small place out in the country, maybe 5-10 acres. I suggested Brazos County is really expensive. This brought up the question, what nearby county would offer the most bang for the buck? TIA

The best overall best buys in the are are in Robertson county, specifically in the Hearne School district.

^^^ I'm not sure that's true. I've seen some surprisingly expensive rural properties over there. I'm sure stuff inside the city limits is cheap but that's not what they are looking for.

[This message has been edited by techno-ag (edited 12/14/2011 9:26p).]

We went through this about 1.5 years ago, and at that time it was indeed Robertson County with the best buys. Especially if you can get north of Calvert.

Don't know if this is still the case, but it would certainly be worth your while to consider it.

OK. I'll pass that along. I was thinking Madison County may offer the best bargains but the Calvert area is good to know.

I would think you could get a little more bang for your buck in Burleson or Lee county. I'm a little biased, of course!

Hix community. Just outside Caldwell.

I bought in Grimes County, Iola ISD. Excellent schools, cheap taxes, easy commute to B/CS.

What's the price per acre y'all are seeing? Anything below $3000?

I sold my parents a place in Burleson county last year. Quite a bit more acreage than you're looking for but they love the privacy and find the drive to CS convenient.

If you have kids in school, you have to consider quality of schools.

Some good rural school districts in the area include: Iola, Anderson-Shiro, Franklin, Mumford, Normangee, Caldwell (maybe?).

I live in Grimes County on over 6 acres that I bought a few years ago for the same price as a city lot in south College Station.

I'm not sure you'll find any land for $3000 an acre unless it's completely undeveloped, uncleared with poor access. But I'm not a realtor, so I'm really just speculating.

Land prices are high then. Oh well. They're not making any more of it I guess.

^^^ I'm not sure that's true. I've seen some surprisingly expensive rural properties over there. I'm sure stuff inside the city limits is cheap but that's not what they are looking for.

[This message has been edited by techno-ag (edited 12/14/2011 9:26p).]

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With comparable acreages and other amenities, I know that is true.

House and land value differences between Hearne school and Franklin and Mumford school districts is about a factor of 2 times greater in Franklin and Mumford.

Burleson county is getting a lot of interest from persons moving out from Austin and also from quite a few native Mexicans coming over buying large acreage...I guess as investments and monetary security.

Grimes county land, especially around Anderson, Roans Prairie, and Navasota south and east (around Chuck Norris' ranch) are appreciating greatly. anything from Nav towards Houston is going up.

The absolute best buys in small acreage from 5 to 20 acres is near Iola just east of Hwy 244. There is quite of few forclosure tracts there that you can get for $1,500 to $3,000/ac but the problem there is is the county roads are sometimes impassable during heavy rainy periods.

Washington county land is getting outrages in price. Lots of retirees moving into the area.

It takes a lot of looking but can be done.

[This message has been edited by Max06 (edited 12/15/2011 8:21a).]

We've been looking for about 4 years in the part of Grimes County off Hwy 30. When I've found affordable places they've been miles down unpaved roads, adjacent to really junky places, or with a view of the power plant.

I need to win the lottery.

http://www.zillow.com/homes/tx_rb/#/homes/for_sale/land_type/200000-_lot/31.336649,-94.791321,30.374671,-97.807068_rect/8_zm/0_mmm/

I am partial to Grimes County but as someone said parts are not easy to access. I drove from Iola to Bryan one time and looked down at the clock when I passed Bryan High and saw I was on the road 40 minutes by then. Bedias is even farther and it is easier to get to Madisonville than College Station. So that is something to consider. I hear you about people wanting a few acres out of town. I have a ranch Im thinking about chopping up into smaller pieces for that very reason. But I want more per acre not less so you got to realize smaller places will sell for more per acre.

Kendall- where does one find foreclosure tract listings? A realtor, a web service, or are they found easily on the internet? (I just hadn't noticed land foreclosures although I'm typically searching for houses)

Regarding cheap land in Hearne ISD, what I saw when looking included a 9 bedroom b&b mansion for $1.6 million, and 20 acres on F.M. 2549 for $189K. So no I did not get the impression that places over there are cheap just because they're in the Hearne district.

Now, it makes sense that further out from town things are cheaper. I'll pass along the Calvert tidbit and the lower priced Grimes Co. offerings. Thanks.

[This message has been edited by techno-ag (edited 12/16/2011 3:54p).]

Be careful in Grimes,Madison counties with the "Darryl Hall" properties. We call them rent-a-ranch properties. Their small tracts which he got cheap out in the "back 40" that he sells hoping you'll miss a payment and he'll get it back. Roads and utilities are hard to come by out in those areas also.

Yeah, John Oates is much more reputable.

There are some areas around the Hall properties in N. Grimes County that even the sheriff deputies don't want to go after dark. To say that the area has some outlaws living there would be an understatement.

Don't give up on Brazos County. I know of 10 acres in Brazos County (between Smetana and Sandy Point Rd)p for sale. Call for information on the Burt Road property. Contact information for the listing agent(s).

Cheryl Free, ABR, GRI, SRES
Broker Associate, FREE Team
RE/MAX Select
4101 Texas Ave. Ste. B
Bryan, TX 77802
Office: 979-846-4500
Cell: 979-229-6420
Home: 979-774-5074
Fax: 979-846-9378
E-mail: sparkyfree@aol.com

Techno,
There are many spots in Burleson County not listed on any realtor sites. Buy a copy of the Burleson County Tribune and drive around. For Burleson, be sure to find out whose ETJ the property is in! Some good pieces for $4k - 5k per acre with good neighbors

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Washington county land is getting outrages in price. Lots of retirees moving into the area

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Down among the swells around Houston, they've been touting the Winedale-Roundtop-Chappel Hill area as "The Houston Hamptons" for long enough, that the idea seems to have "stuck."

Techno-
"Ag Use" properties peaked about two, maybe three, years' ago at just over $4K/acre. Now, a lot of that was people buying land and selling it again. So the increase in price was almost entirely on paper. When the economy flubbered, a bunch of those wound up either with readjusted prices; or on the auction block; or tied up in arguments about "paper, paper, who actually holds the paper" problems.

Thanks Karen & Cap'n Mac & everybody. Good info.

[This message has been edited by techno-ag (edited 12/15/2011 7:32p).]

I suggest calling Sherry Perry at Clickpoint realty to get some information on land in Brazos and the surrounding counties. Her phone number is 979-229-7254.

Texanna, Sherry also has information on foreclosures and can search for any parameters you'd like searched.

Thanks,
Chris Whatley
cMARC Homes
979-229-9554

Carpe,

Good luck to your friend, techno.

Prices vary from county to county, as well as with different regions of each county. The further away from BCS (and any other towns essentially) the cheaper the land is going to be. Another factor that determines price is the size of the acreage. The more acres, the cheaper the price; essentially. There are many more factors, but that is another topic all together.

Eastern Burleson Counties closer to Hwy 21 & 60 are going to bring anywhere from $4,000/ acre to about $7,000 or $8,000/ acre. But in Central Burleson Counties off the beaten path are about $3,000/ acre to $6,000/ acre.

Robertson may be a little cheaper in places and Grimes is probably going to be a little more expensive overall. There can be a huge range in price for rural properties. I would say the norm for 5-10 acres is anywhere from $6,000 - $15,000.

Curious what the price of land between Somerville and Burton is like. Would absolutely LOVE to have some land in that area. Round top, as well, but I'm guessing that would be nearly impossible to find and I'm sure it would bring top dollar.

depends on how far off 290 and/or 36 you want.

I was thinking more along FM 390 between Somerville and Burton.

Ever since 390 became "scenic" the land prices have gotten pretty steep.

I've heard that there are some smaller lots intermittently available over west of FM1948, and on the Lee Co side of FM1697. That's south of Lake Somerville, and northwest of Burton--so, as pointed out above, those are areas further from larger towns and more rural.

Having prowled back in there for wildflower and nature photography, it's a neat area--both "near" and "far" too.

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Don't give up on Brazos County. I know of 10 acres in Brazos County (between Smetana and Sandy Point Rd)p for sale.

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Thanks again for all the comments. I was able to relay info Friday.

I don't think they've "given up" on Brazos Co., but it sure seems a bargain price on land here is the exception to the rule. I've heard other people lament about land often costing 10K/acre in Brazos Co. I do suspect a lot of the pricing issues arise from proximity to BCS.