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East Texas sees increase in people purchasing land during COVID-19

A Longview mortgage company explains why and what to consider before buying.

LONGVIEW, Texas — As we’re social distancing and staying home during COVID-19, some people are choosing to move into new homes. 

According to National Association of Realtors, the month of June saw one of the biggest jumps for home sales on record, but people are also investing in East Texas land. 

Kenneth Travis, Branch Manager at Trademark Mortgage in Longview, says since the pandemic hit East Texas, there’s also been an increase in people buying land.

“We've seen a lot of interstate buyers flooding Texas, a lot of people come from California from Florida,” Travis said. “I think a lot of people have maybe looked at their lives over the last six months, especially with COVID-19 hitting and they're just like, I just want to get out.”

Compared to this time last year, both Longview and Tyler have seen increases in unit land sales, with Longview seeing almost double the amount.

“This time last year Longview saw 60 units land sales, this past month, they saw 115 whereas Tyler saw just 131 and they were up to about 150 sales," Travis said. 

He says part of the reason for increase in land purchases, comes from decreased interest rates, and a lack of homes available for people moving into the region. 

“When you have rates being as low as they are, people's buying power is a lot more, so they can build a home," Travis said. "A lot less monthly payment now than what they could two years ago. It forces people to go and buy land and then build homes on it because the inventory is so low, right now. We have more buyers than we have properties for sale.”

Purchasing Land

If you are buying land there are several things to keep in mind:

  • Make sure you have access to electricity and water. 
  • Consider zoning requirements to see what you can build on that land.

"I've seen the price of land increase, probably in the last year versus go down," Travis said. "It all depends on location, location, location, depending on where it's at. Obviously, the more land you buy, a lot of times, the less expensive you can get it and the lesser amount of land you buy, the more you're going to pay for a per acre.

   



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