We have only lived here for 15 years, but the price of 1 acre of land has gone from $12,000 up to $52,000.

We own almost 5 acres. Our land alone is currently appraised over $262,000. Wow, too bad I can't spend or in any way benefit from that paper wealth. Just makes our property taxes higher! Last year was already over $6,000 a year.

We can't get ag-exempt either, because Guadalupe county requires a 10 acre minimum.

This isn't true about ALL of Texas, but just the well-watered, highly populated parts in the "Dallas - San Antonio - Houston" triangle.

It's certainly true of my area; that's all I can vouch for.

New Braunfels, TX (15 minutes north of us) is currently the #2 city in the whole United States for growth. Seguin is 13 minutes east of us. We don't live within any city limits.





I guess it's better to be "where everyone wants to be" than the alternative! After all, if it gets too expensive, you can always cash out and move.

My parents bought a $82,000 4 bedroom house in my hometown in 1994. 20 years later, my mom's house was only worth $34,000 due to falling real estate and land values. She was *actually underwater* on her mortgage. Usually when you pay $80K for a house, it's pretty much the price of the house materials, right? Not a lot of speculative "land value" baked into that. AND YET -- the property fell lower in value, below the price of materials, due to how rotten the job market is, crime, demographics, White Flight, etc. The Midwest (former manufacturing towns like Detroit) is NOT the place to own Real Estate! 

You've probably heard about homes in Detroit that you can buy for $1,000 or $2,000. Nobody wants to live there.

I really wish the rest of the country would get their act together so we can put the brakes on the southern migration. Every farm that sells around us turns into a new subdivision with hundreds of homes. People who actually just want some land and some cows can't afford to do that in this immediate area any more.

Matthew gave the 15 year big picture, but JUST LAST YEAR the average property increase in this county was 33%.

Sure, it's a nice place to live, but please stop moving here!
(Unless you're a member of this forum, in which case, come on down!)  

Be thankful you don't live in Canada.
We bought a house in 1971 for $21K sold it in 1975 for $38K  (almost double in 4 years)
Bought another house in 1975 for $46K
In 2019 it was worth $420K and by 2021 it was worth $850K and today sits at $750K
Today young people can't afford to buy a house in Canada.

Yup, and it’s by design:

By 2030 “You will own nothing, and be happy.”

-Klaus Schwab