Is Buying Land a Good Investment? – The Answer and More

If there’s one thing Australia has more than most other countries, it’s land. We have so much land here that you can fit twenty Japan inside and still have room left for a small country like Micronesia. Our population is five times smaller, too. In Queensland alone, the ratio of inhabitants to land area is 1:106. Meaning, if you distribute the state’s land equally among all its constituents, each person will get 106 acres. That’s roughly the size of Vatican City.

Not all of the country’s land is habitable, though. A large portion of it consists of protected expanses, farms, and industrial property. Yet, most of the areas intended for residential use remain unoccupied. Surprisingly, many Aussies are hesitant to buy land for sale in Queensland. They think it is not a profitable investment since there’s nothing on it that can produce income.

Is buying land a good investment?

When you invest in something, you expect to get a significant return. Otherwise, it would be a waste of money. While a vacant lot lacks structures that could generate income for you, it isn’t completely stagnant. Land is among the types of property that do not depreciate. Depending on its location, your land will continue to appreciate even if you leave it alone.

Investing in vacant land offers many benefits. Whether you are a land developer or a private individual wanting to secure a residential property early in your life, vacant land can be a lucrative investment option. Here are some of the reasons:

1. Buying land for investment purposes gives you full ownership of the property. Because an empty piece of land is cheaper than a developed one, you may not need to take out a mortgage or loan. The land immediately becomes your own once the seller transfers the title to your name.
2. More people are buying developed land than vacant ones. Therefore, you have very little competition. You can find the land that meets your criteria in no time.
3. Land is a cheap long-term investment with a high guaranteed return. It doesn’t require any maintenance. You can leave it alone for many years and still see its value increase significantly as the area around it develops. You can buy it now and sell it after many years without even seeing it in person because it doesn’t need any staging to look appealing to buyers.
4. Since there’s nothing on your land for anyone to steal or vandalize, you don’t have to hire someone to guard it or put up a security system. Of course, you still have to make sure no one dumps trash or digs up your property, which is highly unlikely to happen in a residential neighborhood.
5. Buying land for investment is more straightforward than buying a house and lot because vacant land sellers are often more motivated. Their terms are less stringent, and the price they set is more negotiable. That’s because they don’t have the same attachment to the land as they have to their home or the property where they currently reside.

Consideration When Buying Raw Land

Before shopping around for raw land, there are several things you need to consider. Especially if you are buying land for development, taking these things into account can help you land the right property for your needs.

• Zoning

  When there’s a specific parcel you are eyeing, check with the city planning office for its zoning first. You don’t want to buy land you’d like to build a house on that sits on an area zoned for commercial use.

• Shape

  Look for a property with the right shape for how you plan to develop it. Don’t just focus on the size. No two lots of the same size have precisely the same shape.

• Access

  While you can purchase land remotely, visiting it could prove critical. That way, you can determine if it’s accessible or not, how far it is from the road, and whether or not there’s a need to apply for an easement.

• History

  Don’t buy a piece of land without looking into its history, mainly if it sells at a lower price than other similar parcels. Odds are the land was once used as a landfill, or there might be a growing sinkhole underneath it. However improbable your suspicions are, it pays to confirm these facts.

Best Place to Buy Land for Investment

There are plenty of ways to invest in raw land. You can rent it out to businesses or organizations in need of temporary space for their outdoor ventures or you can hold on to it until its value increases. You can also hand it over to a developer and let them turn it into a money-generating asset. But ultimately, your next step will depend on the land’s location.

As mentioned, Queensland is too big. If you have little to no knowledge about real estate, chances are it will take you months to find the land that fits your criteria. Even worse, someone else would have purchased it before you have the opportunity to contact the seller.

Your best option is to hire a realtor, especially someone specialising in raw land like Lion Land Marketing. A realtor has a vast selection of land for sale in their arsenal, and they can point you toward the best place to buy land investment. They can further cut the process short by doing most of the paperwork. In other words, when making big decisions such as buying raw land, getting a professional involved is the smartest decision to make.