From developable parcels to agricultural tracts, land auctions across NH, ME, and MA have seen strong participation and competitive prices. Here's what's driving the trend.
For most of the past decade, land was the quiet asset class. That has changed meaningfully over the past two years, and the trend shows no signs of reversing.
Housing Supply Pressure Is Real
New England faces a structural housing shortage. Towns have limited available land, permitting is slow, and construction costs are high. Entitled or developable land commands genuine premium pricing from builders who need to feed project pipelines. We have seen auction results on land parcels outperform pre-auction estimates consistently over the past 18 months.
Agricultural Land: A Different Buyer Profile
Agricultural land has its own demand dynamic driven by local food movement interest, hobby farm buyers, and conservation organizations. Our Kensington auction in April offers a clear example: 54 acres of agricultural land in a town where that kind of acreage is essentially irreplaceable.
What Makes Land Auction Work
Land value is difficult to appraise with precision, and buyers often disagree significantly about what a parcel is worth. That disagreement, channeled into competitive bidding, generates prices that reflect the highest-value use, which is exactly what a seller wants.