I haven't been able to put my finger on an answer to this topic so I figured I would throw it out to the community to seek opinions.
Background is I have bought three parcels so far. The first two were 1-2 acre neighborhood lots and I admit at this point that I placed far too much value on similar listings but ignored a lack of demand which is evident in the lack of recent sales. My logic was that if I list at 50% of what nearly identical parcels are listed for, I can sell no problem. HOWEVER, I am realizing now that if there is hardly any demand for people to build new homes in an area, these things aren't going to move quickly no matter the price.
Based on this experience, I pivoted and purchased a 12 acre parcel with the anticipation that it would open me up to recreational buyers. While this was a great deal and I expect to sell it for a great return within a couple months, I am noticing once again that prospective buyers are still looking at the parcel for the purpose of building a home.
So my question is, while I know it depends tons of aspects including location (I invest in Georgia BTW) at what acreage do other investors typically see buyers purchasing for recreation versus building a primary residence? General thoughts around this will help me greatly when looking for new markets.
@tclandbuyer, I don't have a great specific answer, but I also don't know that there is one, except maybe: it depends...
I say that because, for one, I think it depends heavily on the surrounding area, as well as things like zoning, which are often related. Meaning, if you have a ten acre parcel in amongst a bunch of expensive "estate" type residential parcels of 5+ acres, there might very well be restrictions preventing people from hunting or occupying an RV in that area, for instance.
Aside from that, it can also depend on factors that are very specific to the property. For example, the very first prospective seller that responded to my first mail campaign had a 15 acre property in a rural area, no subdivision or deed restrictions. Based only on those facts, I thought it might be a great property for some people I knew were looking to buy a piece of land for hunting, but once I looked at the plat/GIS more closely, I realized the property was such a funky, sort of L-shape, with 2 or 3 houses on the various sides, that there was probably no where on that property that you could safely hunt, even though you had 15 acres. I still made an offer, but wouldn't pay what the owner wanted.
On the other hand, I just submitted an offer on a property a week or so ago that was barely an acre, but it was on a country lake, without any deed restrictions, and would be a perfect property for an RV pad, or even just someone that wants to pitch a tent on their own property at a lake. So I don't know that you can generalize residential vs. recreational based on size.