Who buys real estate in the rural southwest?

This is the final article in a three-part series on rural real estate values and sales.

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture assessed the current upward trend in land prices across the United States. This trend is evident in the Southwest region, where rural land prices in Texas and Oklahoma are up 7.4% and 8.5%, respectively. Prices in New Mexico remain stable.

Factors contributing to rising values include financial assistance from COVID-19 programs, low interest rates, and increased interest from urban residents to move to rural areas.

So who is buying rural real estate in the Southwest? Investors include farmers and ranchers, outside interested parties purchasing land for recreational purposes, investors looking for a safe haven for their funds, and some foreign buyers.

Farmers on the market

Charles Gilliland, a research economist at the Real Estate Research Center in Texas, says that based on most analyst reports, "farmers, backed by money from insurance and stimulus programs, are buying farmland and outbidding investors." "Recreational investors are more active in buying ranch land than those interested in agricultural use," explains Gilland. - "Most brokers I talk to say that buyers don't usually discuss their motives for buying. At the same time, many are seeing buyers who are worried about the uncertainty in our economy and society. They see land as a means of preserving wealth."-"We're also seeing an increase in buyers interested in conservation, including native plant restoration. One of them has launched a fund to develop such properties here in Texas for sale to wealthy people."-"In addition, some wealthy people are buying large ranches as businesses with new economic opportunities. The Waggoner Ranch and Four Sixes (6666 Ranch) deals come to my mind. "

Gilland says the activity associated with rising prices due to the oil boom in the Permian Basin, "which led to unprecedented levels of ranch prices, is now gone." Foreign buyers are present, but not as active as they used to be.

Oklahoma State University Agriculture and Economics Specialist Roger Sahs says there has been some foreign investment in Oklahoma agricultural real estate since the passage of Oklahoma legislation SQ 788 (Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative) in 2018. "The passage of SQ 788 has attracted some interest in Oklahoma agricultural real estate from foreign buyers, but I don't have data to determine to what extent. In some areas of the state, it has affected land prices," Sachs said.

Associated New Mexico broker Dwain Nunez of Charles S. Middleton and Sons says that of the eight ranches they sold in 2023, "each was purchased by people involved in agriculture." He says many buyers come from Texas. "As far as I know, we have never sold to foreign buyers. In 2022, we sold one large area to New Mexico Game and Fish." He says the land will cease to be used for agriculture, but will remain as a hunting area with conservation measures. "Other brokers will sell rural real estate to rich people," Nunez says.

Gilland says he doesn't hear much about foreign buyers. "They are there, but they're not as noticeable as they used to be. Some foreign investors have purchased farm holdings in north Texas. The largest purchases were in the timberlands of East Texas, mostly by Canadians. Chinese buyers have gotten a lot of attention, but if you look at the acreage, they make up a small fraction of foreign ownership here. One Chinese investor sparked serious protests when she purchased a large ranch in Devils River with the intention of installing wind farms. Controversy with conservationists, lack of communication with the system-wide network, and military air raids led to the termination of these plans. "

Foreign holdings

Foreign interests own approximately 40 million acres of farmland in the U.S. as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to the U.S. Farm Service Administration's December 2021 report. This represents 3.1 percent of all private farmland and 1.8 percent of the total land area in the United States.

The report indicates that Texas has the largest amount of foreign farmland in the United States, approximately 5.3 million acres. Second place is Maine with a little over 3.6 million acres of foreign land, about 20.1% of the state's private farmland. In Colorado, foreign interests own approximately 1.9 million acres of farmland. Foreign entities own 1,670,511 acres in Oklahoma, representing 4.4% of farmland. In New Mexico, foreign entities own 1,963,241 acres, representing 3.8% of farmland.

Foreign buyers

The January 2023 Congressional Research Service report, "Inos...