Commercial Real Estate News / Buying / Top 5 Counties to Buy Land for Sale in Texas

Top 5 Counties to Buy Land for Sale in Texas

Published: 10-26-23 Category: Buying

Specializes in providing actionable insights into the commercial real estate space for investors, brokers, lessors, and lessees. He covers quarterly market data reports, investment strategies, how-to guides, and top-down perspectives on market movements.

Thanks to the state's growing economy, rising population, and business-friendly policies, Texas is and has been a perennial favorite for land investors.

Buying land for sale in The Lone Star State can be a smart move, with the right guidance and clear investment objectives, for any investor looking to generate income with a flexible, stable asset.

Here, we'll cover the top five counties to buy land for sale in Texas. We chose these counties based on land availability, the local economy, and land development opportunities.

Let's get started.

#1 – Harris County

Starting with one of the most well-known counties, Harris County is the most populated county in Texas, and its seat is Houston. Harris County has a healthy economy and houses over 20 Fortune 500 companies.

Thirty percent of the county's economic output is energy, followed by agricultural and livestock activity.

Based on reports from the Houston-Galveston Area Council, about 63% of land in Harris County is developed, with 23% uncultivated cropland and 12% wetlands.

Houston lends itself well to industrial real estate investing, and Harris County offers plenty of initiatives for businesses, including tax abatements and foreign trade zone incentives.

#2 – Williamson County

Williamson County is located north of Austin and encompasses both Round Rock and Georgetown. Williamson has been one of the fastest-growing Texas counties of the past decade and has a high median household income of over $90,000.

Manufacturing in the county employs over 14,000 people, and industrial development has skyrocketed in the area since 2021.

#3 – Wharton County

Wharton County houses three major cities: Wharton, El Campo, and East Bernard. From a landowner's perspective, three of Wharton County's most important industries are manufacturing, retail, and agriculture.

Agriculture, in particular, produces over $373 million in annual revenue for the county. Keep an eye out for farmland if you want to buy land for sale in El Campo or Wharton: Most land (~90%) in Wharton County is rural crop and forest land.

#4 – Guadalupe County

Guadalupe County is located northeast of San Antonio, and its seat is Seguin. Guadalupe County is small, but it sits right off the I-35 corridor between San Antonio and Austin, the single busiest interstate corridor between cities in Texas.

Two of the best cities to buy land for sale in Guadalupe County include New Braunfels and San Marcos, both of which have seen excellent economic growth since 2020. New Braunfels, in particular, has several industrial development projects underway.

#5 – Waller County

Waller County is part of the larger Houston-The Woodland-Sugarland metro and greatly favors manufacturing and logistics investments. The county's largest industrial site is the Daikin Texas Technology Park, with over 4.2 million square feet of industrial space.

Waller County's position on the I-10 and H290 makes it an important distribution center for Houston, as many distributors have been buying land in the area.

Waller County also has a significant agricultural sector that generates over $102 million annually.

What's the Average Cost Per Acre of Land for Sale in Texas?

Top 5 Counties to Buy Land for Sale in Texas

According to the USDA's 2023 Land Values Summary Report, the average price of farming land for sale in Texas is $2,900 per acre.

Average cropland values in Texas are a little under $2,600 per acre, and average pasture values in Texas are $2,200 per acre.

What's the Cheapest Place to Buy Land in Texas?

Based on current pricing data, the cheapest place to buy land for sale in Texas is Hudspeth County, where land prices can reach $1,000 per acre or lower.

More generally, the Western panhandle of Texas seems to be the cheapest area for land in the state.

Working With a Texas Land Broker

No matter where you're looking to invest, we recommend working with a land broker. Texas land brokers will be intimately familiar with the process of buying land for sale in Texas, so a broker on your investment team can help you:

Analyze land financials;
Negotiate sales contracts;
Find commercial tenants;
Gather environmental reports and documentation; and
Explore financing options (i.e., raw land loans, developed land loans, etc.).

Land brokers can help you avoid common mistakes when buying property and give you the best chance of maximizing investment returns.

Is Buying Land in Texas a Good Investment?

Yes, buying commercial property in Texas can be an excellent idea—specifically agricultural and industrial land.

Below are a few reasons why buying land for sale in Texas makes sense from a commercial real estate investment perspective.

#1 – Affordable

Texas has some of the most affordable land prices in the country and has a relatively low cost of living thanks to its plentiful supply of land and diverse real estate market.

Texas cities, like Austin, have become more expensive in recent years, but places with cheap land in the state still exist. Land management and upkeep in Texas are also fairly straightforward.

#2 – Tax Benefits

Texas has high property taxes but offers a number of tax exemptions for residential and commercial land, such as the homestead exemption and exemptions for timber and agricultural production.

Additionally, if you invest in farmland, Texas provides several sales and use-tax exemptions for farming equipment, like machinery and seeds.

#3 – Leasing Mineral Rights

Texas is the single-largest producer of crude oil and natural gas in the country, and swaths of Texas land are rich in mineral resources.

Texas landowners can lease the mineral rights from their land to generate passive income.

Landowners can also lease their land for hunting, cattle grazing, and recreation, so you can still make money even if you don't develop the land.

Get Vetted, Interested, & Local-Market Commercial Real Estate Clients Sent Straight to Your Inbox

Get notified when someone in your local market is looking to buy, sell, or lease commercial real estate with MyEListing.com's Client Connection Program: Agents using our Client Connection Program tend to close 4x more deals than those without.