This article was emailed to me from the Land Incorporated newsletter and I really thought it was worth sharing.  Let me know your thoughts.

Land Article of the Month
High-priced land can still be a sensible investment
By Curtis Seltzer
Creative Real Estate Magazine,  May, 2008 at http://www.cremag.com.


America’s historical engine of settlement was the desire for land. Rich people wanted it, as did everyone else.


The stories of how we as a people acquired land from Native Americans, from each other and from public authority is as uncomfortable to read as any slave narrative.


Land, of course, meant that the landless had a way of making a living, and, if not that, at least surviving until better times appeared. Land also meant the prospect of wealth, which each of our Founders understood. Eighteenth century Native Americans called the surveyor’s compass a “land thief,” with good reason.


Today, most Americans do not need land to meet their survival needs. Wealth, too, is no longer land dependent.


A billionaire might occupy no more than 3,000 square feet above Manhattan—3,000 very expensive, very exclusive, very embellished square feet. And all of his wealth would appear in a monthly statement as shares of this or that.


But I think this decoupling of wealth from land is changing; I think we have started to go back to the future.


About nine percent of all U.S. homeowners own a second home. And that base is projected to gain about 160,000 units annually during the near-term future. As population continues to increase, the market for land and second homes will strengthen.


Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have run features in recent months on the migration of wealthy folks back to the countryside. They’re looking to preserve it, not exploit it. But when they sell, they make money.


Want real proof? Cheap land no longer exists.


The transformation of land from something that had value because of what it could produce as food or product to something that has value largely for its aesthetics and
the recreational amenities it affords has profound long-term implications.


The people who buy land today are different. They are not, as a rule, farmers who make their living from farming. They are not, as a rule, trying to build wealth through the accumulation of land.


In a sense, they are voluntary refugees who make their money in the cities but choose to spend discretionary time in country places.


It’s taken a while, but they’ve unwittingly brought with them the inflated values of their economic base.


And that explains why a couple of so-so acres in a so-so West Virginia county about four hours west of Washington, D.C. now sell for $10,000 per acre rather than the $2,000 of ten years ago or the $500 of 20 years ago or the $100 of 30 years ago.


Amenity-driven inflation has priced farmers out of buying farmland for farming and timber owner of buying timberland for timber production…. Read More….

I am getting sick and tired of reading about the doom and gloom of energy prices, the recession, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac, foreclosures, and the real estate debacle.  I recently read an article that I think put things into perspective.  Take a deep breath and click here–

Skeptical View on Economy

Now of course more bad news has come out, but I think we need to get some perspective and take advantage of the fear in the marketplace and start dipping our feet in to the waters.  There will be some more short term downward pressure on pricing, but since no one can predict the bottom and everyone seems scared it seems like a logical time to me to start buying raw land for the long term.

I just filled up my gas tank today at $3.95 a gallon. I drive a V8 sedan that isn’t necessarily a gas guzzler, but it ain’t no Prius either. After filling up for gas, I went to the grocery store for my wife and bought maybe 12-15 items and racked up almost $90 of groceries. I wasn’t buying steak or lobster, but yogurt, produce, blueberries, your basic whole foods.

This got me thinking that if the stuff we need is rising at such a high rate whom among us is going to be buying the other stuff we don’t really need? We all know we’re in a recession, but shouldn’t pricing go down in almost all other areas of the economy thus keeping inflation at bay?

I think this is what’s going to happen and as a result, I don’t see land prices, housing prices, or other non commodity items going up in the next few quarters. If you have cash on the sidelines waiting to buy dirt, I don’t see how you can get hurt jumping in now or even 6 months from now. Where the bottom is, I don’t know until I go to a few bank auctions, but I think we are getting closer.

On a sad and scary note, I’m preparing for my first law suit with the Treasure Lake Property Owner’s Association. Our negotiations have not been fruitful, and it appears the only way for my time to be productive dealing with them is through the dreaded legal system. I will keep you posted on the process.