When you think of buying vacant land for investment, flipping land in Florida might not be your first choice. It’s because you’re unaware of the 517,068 acres of vacant land in Florida with a $25 billion value projection. Combined with the population increase and the agricultural boom, the state is experiencing an investment opportunity that is too good to pass.
Is flipping land in Florida a good idea?
The average price for land listing, encompassing ranch, farms, and other different land properties is $474,077. This isn’t a small amount by any means.
In fact, you can’t actually call it flipping land in Florida in the truest sense of the concept as the land value of Florida is already quite high. Land flipping is supposed to mean buying properties at a rate 5% to 30% lower than the market value.
A flipper would be able to sell the same land at 80% of the market value. The rising interest in Florida’s land could allow them to sell higher than the market value too.
If the landowners are smart, they would at least demand upward of 30% of the current market price. However, you have to remember the person selling the land is already in a hurry to get rid of it. As long as you have good negotiation skills, you can bring down the price by up to 30%.
The high availability of land for sale also means the owners are aware of investors having plenty of options to buy land from elsewhere. If they’re in need of quick cash, as they often are, they will sell the land at a reasonable amount.
Even on listing sites, it’s possible to quickly find inexpensive flipping land in Florida, selling at lower than $5000.
Of course, the lower price doesn’t mean a flipper should immediately buy it. You have to consider the selling point of the land and whether you will be able to market it. The flipper has to worry about what to do to make the land more appealing, from clearing the weeds to making it floodproof.
For example, flood zone lands are naturally less expensive. While you may not have any problem buying it for a land flipping project, someone planning to build a home in Florida could.
For them to buy the land, you will have to construct some kind of water pumping system to get rid of the flood water. Additionally, you will have to build a barrier around the land so the water doesn’t flood back. The same principle applies to wetlands.
Lots of land in Florida comes with wells. If the land is to be used for agricultural purposes, the presence of wells will make it easier to sell. You will have to remove the wells to make if selling to someone for residential use.
If you trust you have the resources and can market the land to the right buyer, you’re free to take your dig at extremely inexpensive lands in Florida.
Otherwise, you want to look for relatively inexpensive but dry area land. You want to go for land that would either have a rich, affluent neighborhood in the future or would be perfect for agriculture.
Long and short-term profit from flipping land in Florida
There are plenty of ways one can gain a profit from flipping land in Florida.
The obvious, classic way would be to buy cheap land and sell it at a higher price. You can spruce up the land a little or leave it alone completely, depending on the condition of the land.
You can wait it out a little. Since the Florida land market is hot right now, it is predicted that it will be hotter in the future. So, you do buy it at a somewhat expensive price and then sell at an even higher price when the demand increases tenfold. This would be your short-term gain.
Another trick a flipper can apply is to sell the land on loan to the buyer. In Florida, this would usually be farmers who would put down payment and provide further installments from their agricultural produce sales. You will have a reliable source of income for months.
The prevalence of biking, hunting, and off-roading in Florida also means there are developers who would willingly buy land from a flipper at a good rate.
For flipping land in Florida, what is the cost of an acre?
The per acre average price in Florida is $28,961. However, there are lands where an acre barely costs $3,500.
The acre mentioned is found in Bay County, making an acre cost as low as this is a massive steal. After all, some of the highest value properties are in the area, especially the ones from Panama City.
There’s a huge number of state parks in Bay County. This is again an appealing point for flipping land in Florida, as buyers are likely to want to build rentals for vacation and such in the area.
In Highlands County, it’s possible to find 0.25 acres at barely $2000. The closeness to Tampa and Tampa bay can make these lands appealing to the buyer, which would be your biggest selling point while marketing.
Jackson County, Brevard County, and Polk County are also pretty inexpensive.
Wrapping Up
Flipping land in Florida is undoubtedly profitable at present and will have an even bigger market in the future. Only, it’s important for the flipper to do deep research. Flipping land in itself is a task that should be done with research. However, it more suits Florida due to the various zoning laws of the counties.
Along with the taxes you have to pay for owning the land till you sell it, you will also have to get special permits for different zones. There’s a bit of an overlap between the counties in Florida, which is what makes the land deals so complicated but fruitful.