Hi, just wondering for those of you have have bought hunting land over the past 5/10 years if you think it was a wise investment, meaning has it gone up in value and if so how much?
Not looking for any tillable acreage, just 50 – 100 acres of swamp/woods within a 2 hour drive north of the TC.
Pros/cons/suggestions or things you would do differently if you had to do all over again.
Property values have continued to increase, including on hunting land. But it’s not an investment, as you get no return until you sell it. And I don’t think the property value increase keeps pace with other investments. The return on investment is in your enjoyment of the land, and it’s tough to put a dollar value on that.
I may be wrong but up near my land north of cloquet I see for sale signs on the same properties for years. I dont think land moves very fast up there. Data could prove my hunch wrong of course and 3.5 hours north of the cities vs 2 hours definitely presents a different market so that would play a factor too no doubt but as bigwerm said i wouldn’t think of it as an investment cause sometimes it will take a long time to sell
Property values have continued to increase, including on hunting land. But it’s not an investment, as you get no return until you sell it.
Isn’t that how all investments work? Plus, it’s not just monetary gains you’re looking at. Have to take into account the utility it brings.
Isn’t that how all investments work?
No, stock market investments you get dividends, rental property you can cash flow, savings/CD’s get interest etc. Sure you often put those funds back into the investment, but you’re not required too (other than for tax purposes). And to be clear I think buying land of any kind, particularly hunting land, is a great idea if you can afford to, but as an investment it’s a long term one with marginal returns.
But it’s not an investment, as you get no return until you sell it.
Just an idea as I have no idea what the market is for hunting leases but that might be an option to have some cash flow. if he bought 100 acres he could lease 50 acres of it and personally hunt the other 50. Not sure how viable it is but could be an option.
I’ve gone and looked at a bunch of bare land lots this summer and if they weren’t maintained or improved they can be somewhat inaccessible with how thick they are. Some of them don’t even have a spot you can get your car off the road beyond the ditch, if it even has actual road frontage. I would think if you were going the leasing route you’d want something where people can maybe get a camper in there or at the least get around on it without pushing through a tangled mess right from the border. Maybe creating some trails or shooting lanes would be one way to improve it and increase the value.
Like any land, hunting land generally has to be developed to suit ones wants/needs so there’ll be some time/$$$ investment there in addition to the land itself.
Something no one has brought up is the liability insurance that you’ll be require to carry. Even if you legally post the land and assume nobody will trespass you’ll need to carry the liability insurance. We’ve got trail cams set up on our 40 and its amazing how many pictures of unknowns we get traipsing around.
No, stock market investments you get dividends, rental property you can cash flow, savings/CD’s get interest etc. Sure you often put those funds back into the investment, but you’re not required too (other than for tax purposes). And to be clear I think buying land of any kind, particularly hunting land, is a great idea if you can afford to, but as an investment it’s a long term one with marginal returns.
This. Throw in inflation and land really isn’t any better than a savings account if you end up ahead at all. The only way you can consider it an investment is if you time the market or build something on it like a for profit storage business that would return more than you put in.
Something no one has brought up is the liability insurance that you’ll be require to carry. Even if you legally post the land and assume nobody will trespass you’ll need to carry the liability insurance. We’ve got trail cams set up on our 40 and its amazing how many pictures of unknowns we get traipsing around.
Something no one has brought up is the liability insurance that you’ll be require to carry. Even if you legally post the land and assume nobody will trespass you’ll need to carry the liability insurance. We’ve got trail cams set up on our 40 and its amazing how many pictures of unknowns we get traipsing around.
I hate trespassers, why people think they should be able to run all over someone else’s property is beyond me.
I know from M in L selling the family farm in eastern Ottertail Co that brush & timber fetch as much or more than tillable.
In Mille Lacs area the “deals” are all pretty much gone. Now it is word of mouth or neighbors approaching elderly neighbors.
Complicating things is the band is always looking too.
The spread of CWD may pop the spec bubble but horn hunters don’t care. Dunno but if I was buying hunting land I’d want public land I could also SAFELY access.
Like any land, hunting land generally has to be developed to suit ones wants/needs so there’ll be some time/$$$ investment there in addition to the land itself.
Something no one has brought up is the liability insurance that you’ll be require to carry. Even if you legally post the land and assume nobody will trespass you’ll need to carry the liability insurance. We’ve got trail cams set up on our 40 and its amazing how many pictures of unknowns we get traipsing around.
My liability is covered by my primary insurance on my home. It’s listed as “external premise” coverage. I have no man-made structures and cannot lease it. Fine with me. I think I’m limited to 400 acres that way.
On topic of the ops question, I have my investments in the market and view my hunting property as a hobby. Taxes are minimal, as mentioned the insurance is covered. I’m 2 hours from my home. Do it for the fun, if you come out ahead, great. For me, it’s not part of the retirement financial plan as I don’t plan on selling it. I plan to leave it for the kids and grandkids so they can keep the love for the outdoors going.
Like any land, hunting land generally has to be developed to suit ones wants/needs so there’ll be some time/$$$ investment there in addition to the land itself.
Something no one has brought up is the liability insurance that you’ll be require to carry. Even if you legally post the land and assume nobody will trespass you’ll need to carry the liability insurance. We’ve got trail cams set up on our 40 and its amazing how many pictures of unknowns we get traipsing around.
Your wrong about that I’m pretty sure. At least in Wisconsin.
And I see you said liability insurance. On anything you own, why wouldn’t you have insurance?
Be sure and ask about taxes.
Hi, just wondering for those of you have have bought hunting land over the past 5/10 years if you think it was a wise investment, meaning has it gone up in value and if so how much?
I basically have the property that is exactly what you are looking at. I have purchased 80 acres within the past 10 years, it’s 97 miles from my house in Maplewood. This property is used exclusively for hunting.
Through my business, I know several wildlife and rec property real estate agents as well. When you start talking about land as an investment, that is a tricky question because very few people keep accurate track of the total costs of the maintenance and improvements that they do.
Many buyers now are looking for more turnkey properties that have improvements like food plots, trails, and cabins or cabin sites already done. This type of more turnkey property is going to appreciate at about the same rate as other properties in that area, so if the average is a 4% gain per year, that’s what you are going to get. Minus expenses, of course! In some areas property taxes can be huge on rec properties so be careful.
Having 40 acres of woods and swamp is fine if that’s what you want, but that type of property is not going to appreciate like a more turnkey setup. The reality these days is that most buyers are time poor and a hunt-ready property is going to get a much higher return than rough unimproved ground.
So if you buy and improve, the potential is there. Buying rough ground and just sitting on it to flip later in the same unimproved state, I’d be surprised if you beat inflation and then minus your property taxes, you’d be lucky to come out with an above-inflation gain at all.
My property in the Hinckley area was 100% woods when we bought it, totally unimproved. Luckily, I found a rolling parcel with almost no unusable swamp. I have extensively improved the property, adding trails, a camp area, a bridge across the creek, and 12 acres of food plots.
The problem is dozer time doesn’t come cheap and to maintain the property, I have over 10k invested in equipment like tractor, sprayer, brush hog, sheds, water tanks, etc.
This is a high demand area, though, so I think a reasonable assessment of my 80 acres would be that we have increased value about 25%.
However, that is NOT a 25% profit. After improvement expenses, I would estimate that if I sold today, I’d lose close to 10k in real money. In a few years, I’ll be in the black as far as if I sold, I would net profit, but that demonstrates that it’s not as lucrative as some people think it is when you look not just at % of price gain, but at the expense side of the ledge as well.
I’d say buy it to use it, love it, and pass it on to the next generation. As an investment to make a profit, there are much better choices.
Grouse
Unless your coming off of super high interest rates, you generally don’t see huge jumps in prices like we did back in the early 90s.
If it’s for your personal use, think of it as a car or truck. You’ll have a significant cost of ownership if your doing minor improvements. Some you can recover your costs and some you won’t. It’s a labor of love for sure.
I am a real estate agent in WI and I think that the trend coming in the next 5-10 years as the baby boomers age into a “non hunting” age you will start to see a lot more inventory come on the market for pieces of 40 acres and up. I feel that is unfortunately due to to decreasing numbers in hunters. Typically in a market where supply increases and demand stays the same you would see values drop but… Keep in mind though that recreational land is a luxury item and a large majority of these parcels will be paid off so the holding cost for a seller will be minimal so that rule may not hold true.
Some of the comments I see I agree with in that the largest issue with the average buyer on hunting land is maintenance and time investment. Land is a labor of love but running up constantly on weekends or whenever takes time and the average person does not have that typically nor resources to improve places. The trail systems, food plots and camp sites all make a property more “sellable” hence gaining that seller higher value in my opinion.
My advice to purchasing hunting land is buy the cheapest piece is the nicest hunting area you can think of that way you know that there is potential for increase in value. Adding improvements to it along with being in that great hunting area will add value quicker than buying something finished and just hanging onto it.
That is my two cents. WI has a program you can enter your land into to defer tax costs. Timber values fluctuate.
I would be concerned about the aging of hunters. More are dying or aging out of the sport than enter it. Is there going to be a lot of demand down the road for land that doesn’t have much other use?
I would be concerned about the aging of hunters. More are dying or aging out of the sport than enter it. Is there going to be a lot of demand down the road for land that doesn’t have much other use?
I own a hunting-related business, Midwest Monster Whitetail Products where we sell food plot seeds and property management products.
I talk to hundreds of hunters and wildlife property owners every year. IMO, it’s just the opposite.
To the baby boomers, hunting is going to the farm or the traditional big woods camp and sitting watching a trail to see if anything comes by. A lot of baby boomers still hunt on a relative’s farm or other property as well.
It’s the younger generation from Gen X on down who want to own a property that is managed specifically for quality hunting. Hunting property ownership is the new lake cabin to this generation, it’s a multi-generational recreational purchase and if anything it’s getting more popular, not less. The younger generations grew up with this as their model for hunting, they never had the family farm like so many baby boomers did.
I am constantly surprised by the number of customers of ours who are under 30 and either own their own property or manage the family property. This generation grew up with the idea that if they wanted good hunting, they had to build it themselves and many of them have never known a relative or other person who farms so that they grew up with access to private land.
Like anything else in real estate, there will always be buyers for good locations and well-managed properties. I would agree that marginal “big woods” swamp hunting property may become a tougher sell, but I can’t see a day when a well-set-up property within 3 hours of the Twin Cities will decline in value.
Grouse
With land becoming more affordable & practical then higher end boats, I can see people buying land. Like Grouse said I think 100 miles and two hours is the max people will drive though.
The tough sell might be convincing momma you are buying swamp land. 
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