What's a fair price for land? (Spokane: new home, buying, school)

[kaimik]

We're giving some thought to buying a piece of land and building a new home. We're looking at about a 5 acre parcel that was purchased in 2006 for $100,000. They're asking a good amount more than that and I'm wondering what a fair price would be? Has land maintained value here or depreciated, like the home values? (Also, it's owned by a land developer, so I don't know how that impacts their need to sell.) Your input would be appreciated! We lost a bundle on the home we just sold, so can't afford to overpay for anything at this point!

[WendyK]

Kaimik - Where is the land located? Land prices are not consistent in all areas. You can buy a residential 1/4 acre lot for $80,000 or you can find a remote 10 acre piece for the same price. A lot depends on location, road access, any improvements, well records in the area or public water availability, how far away power is located, septic and/or sewer availability, and general terrain of the land. If it's steep and heavily treed, it should be less expensive due to the difficulty to build.
Land prices have not changed much in the past few years - some have dropped. There is a huge amount of land inventory right now and the prices are all over the place. I've seen the same thing you're mentioning - someone bought land not that long ago, and now are asking inflated 2006 & 2007 prices when people aren't able to obtain financing as easily as they could a few years ago.

[rickers]

The title of the post is "What's a fair price for land ?" It doesn't matter where it is or how usable it is, because the "fair price" is what ever someone is willing to pay for it.

[WendyK]

Originally Posted by rickers

The title of the post is "What's a fair price for land ?" It doesn't matter where it is or how usable it is, because the "fair price" is what ever someone is willing to pay for it.

That is very true, but making a "fair" offer means considering lots of variables about the property. Kaimik was asking about land prices in the Spokane area and I was trying to explain that there is a huge variation in prices depending on certain factors that need to be considered to try to determine a "fair" offering price.

[Amber Klen]

kaimik -- BUYER BEWARE! The stories I've heard this past year of (especially out-of-area) buyers getting taken by unscrupulous sellers/realtors/developers are heartbreaking. Keep in mind that it's very much a Good Ol Boys network up here, and that the people involved usually have connections to one-another's church or school or family. Times are tough and many folks are desperate, so they list their property toward the top of the scale as a ploy to distract you from the problems. There are many hidden perils to keep in mind. At the top of the list is neighbors. Also, water quality. Those are two things that when bad, can ruin your enjoyment of everything else. Many property lines are "approximate", also a common source of problems. Security is a current issue as there is a substantial substance abuse epidemic, particularly in the outlying areas, that has caused many good people to leave.