Correlation Between the Housing and Land Market (LA 1342)

Transcript:

Steven Butala:

Steve and Jill here.

Jill DeWit:

Good day.

Steven Butala:

Welcome to The Land Academy Show, entertaining land investment talk. I'm Steven Jack Butala.

Jill DeWit:

And I'm Jill Dewit. Broadcasting from gorgeous sunny, Southern California.

Steven Butala:

Today, Jill and I talk about the correlation between housing data and housing information that we're getting right now from every angle, in a land market. There's all this stuff about housing. Everywhere you turn. Unemployment's this, forbearance here. Housing market's on fire and mortgage rates are almost zero, and on and on and on. How does that affect the land market? Believe it or not, it's almost a one-to-one, I believe, a one-to-one correlation. I'll get into the details, but here's a couple of real simple examples. A tremendous amount of potential development, farmland, agricultural land, in Maricopa County, Arizona, is getting acquired right now. I micro watch that market. Because of the price can command it. And because the financing is available. The institutional-type financing from big home builders.

So what does that mean to us from a land perspective? All these little infill lots that nobody cares about are still the same price. You think that a person who owns a home thinks that their little infill lot, or the two infill lots, that, for whatever reason they inherited, is worth any more this year than it was last year? No. And they couldn't be happier to sell them. So, when you follow these markets and you say this market's on fire ... Placer County, California, is another one, that's where Lake Tahoe and Truckee are. Are essentially because of technology, a commutable subdivision of San Francisco, on fire. Fantastic place to buy land and infill lots and everything else.

Jill DeWit:

Do you know what I believe? I've been waiting to say that.

Steven Butala:

Why is that?

Jill DeWit:

Because you just say, " I believe", and I'm like, well, I got something I believe too.

Steven Butala:

I don't even know what I'm saying. I mean, I know exactly what I'm saying. Have no idea how I'm really coming off presenting it. It's Jill's job to say, dude, you're just, you got to stop that.

Jill DeWit:

Yeah, that was embarrassing. Just kidding. No, no. I was going to give you a compliment. I believe you, because I don't know anybody that knows land like you.

Steven Butala:

Oh, that's nice.

Jill DeWit:

You're welcome.

Steven Butala:

Well, let's just end on that.

Jill DeWit:

There you go.

Steven Butala:

Before we get into it, let's take a question posted by one of our members on the landinvestors.com online community. It's free.

Jill DeWit:

Irwin wrote, "What is the best way to buy property tax foreclosed land?" Thanks. Take it away Steven.

Steven Butala:

Well, that's an interesting question. Where do I start? I could write an entire book on that, like a book series. There's a lot of ways to buy tax foreclosed land. It could be he or she. What they're talking about is this. People die and they don't pay their property taxes. That's usually because they die. Or in some cases, a very, very few small percentage, less than 5%, 95% of the reason property taxes get foreclosed on, property taxes now, are because people pass away and their heirs never knew, or they don't have any heirs, or things like that. And a few other cases, it's just because they don't want the property anymore, which is actually good for us.

So what's the best way to get a smoking deal on this? First thing you need to do is go do a tremendous amount of research online and you'll be shocked and amazed at what you can buy in your little area, wherever you are. If you're in Indiana, that state and those counties have a way to divert this property comes up every year. In some cases, in Texas, every week. The first Tuesday of every week in Texas, from a statute standpoint, each County is supposed to hold a gavel auction on ...