Land for Sale in New Mexico
New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment, with its stunning natural beauty, it can be easy to see why. But beauty isn’t the only reason why one might be interested in buying New Mexican land of their own. The real estate market in New Mexico is hot (with the second most amount of land available for purchase of any state in the union) and it can be hard to know where to look for the best land deals and offers, as the state also has the cheapest farmland available in the USA.
Finding suitable land for sale in New Mexico can be easily accomplished if the right tools are used during the search. Looking through results will help determine what is happening in the market and where any potential profit may be made. A strict budget and list of desirable attributes should also be made.
So, let’s get into some of the details of purchasing land in New Mexico below. Later we will take a look at how land sales can be impacted by factors such as use for farming or being sold by the owner. We’ll suggest a few counties you can try looking at where you will find some of the cheapest acreage in New Mexico and even some of the most idyllic spots in the state to purchase land.
But first, let’s look at some tools you can use to find land in New Mexico and what to expect from the results.
Finding Land for Sale in New Mexico
When it comes to buying land these days, listings websites have quickly become an indispensable tool. There are several quality ones you can try, each with its own tools you can use when looking for land for sale in New Mexico.
A few of our favorite websites include:
LandWatch is a helpful website for those that are looking for some guidance with their listings. The website offers a helpful synopsis of the land buying process in New Mexico and the types of land it offers on its site. The design is simple and intuitive with the option to search by region, county, city, size, property type, or price.
What Land Flip is missing in terms of context it makes up for with its wealth of listings and the ability to break them up based on general categories of use such as hunting, recreational, ranching, and waterfront properties. There is plenty of variety in listings, too, as the site has over 900 lots of land listed as available currently. Land Flip also allows users to register for a free land buyer’s profile that will help narrow down which of the state’s over 300,000 available acres is suitable for you.
Land And Farm is one of the nation’s largest land listing websites with properties in all 50 states. For land listings for New Mexico specifically, the site helpfully breaks out some of the most desirable tracts of land out into “Showcase Properties” which can highlight the cream of the crop. And with nearly 4,000 listings for undeveloped land, there is a lot to sort through on the site.
No matter which of the tools or sites above you use, you’ll likely receive roughly the same results for the same search parameters. This is because most real estate will be cross-listed on as many platforms as possible these days in order to ensure the maximum reach. However, feel free to research land you are most keenly interested in on other websites as well, due to the fact that the quality of information and pictures may vary depending on the listing service.
Farmland for Sale in New Mexico
Farmland, like in most places, is a precious commodity in New Mexico, with family farms often being passed down from generation to generation. And while the state has over 40,000,000 acres of farmland, most of it is divided up between 24,700 existing family farms. For this reason, farmland comes up more rarely on the open market and is often priced accordingly.
New Mexico Ranches are available for a median listing price of $195,000, with Rio Arriba and Torrance being two of the most popular counties for this type of property.
Land for Sale by Owner in New Mexico
For some landowners, getting a real estate agent or broker involved will only serve to siphon away profit from the sale of their land, an unsurprisingly large amount of folks who feel such a way will end up selling their land themselves. And while land for sale by owner (FSBO) isn’t the largest part of the land sale market, ignoring it may mean you could miss out on some prime options.
When looking for direct-from-owner sales, it pays to have a local connection. It is much harder to find such sales as they are less likely to be cross-listed on multiple sites and may be hidden by obscure filters or website settings. Some properties may not be listed online at all. Finding a reasonably priced property FSBO can mean savings of up to 6% in the traditional housing market.
Where is the cheapest land in New Mexico?
For some potential buyers, the only criteria they will use to judge a potential land deal is the final price and for such people, it can pay to look where the land is cheapest. In general, good deals can be found all over the state, and no one section has a monopoly on the best land prices, as local factors can often end up impacting pricing as well.
But, if you are looking for some of the best prices on undeveloped land in the state, it can pay to look in rural sections of the following four counties:
- Valencia County: With some listing starting at under $1000 for an acre, this is one of the best places to look in the state for deals. More expensive to the north, closer to Albuquerque proper.
- Luna County: Located on the New Mexico-Mexico border, Luna County has some population already centered around Deming, nearby Sunshine is often more affordable.
- Otero County: $1,500 won’t buy you a full acre and you’ll be lucky if you get more than half an acre for that amount. Still, the county sits just to the north of Texas and the El Paso area, making it an alluring opportunity.
- Taos County: The most expensive of the cheaper options, land with a mountain view in Taos County can cost approximately $2,000 for 0.25 acres.
How much does an acre of land cost in New Mexico?
Up until this point, we’ve largely danced around the subject of cost. This is for a variety of reasons, the least of which is that markets can change rapidly, and prices can quickly become out of date. So, with a minimal amount of waffling, how much exactly can you expect an acre of land in New Mexico to cost?
The price you pay for an acre of land in New Mexico will be impacted by a few distinct factors such as location and improvability. An acre in an urban area that can easily be built on will easily cost $10,000 dollars or more. A rural plot of land that is off-grid and difficult to develop will range anywhere from $700-2,000 an acre.
So, now that we know some prices, let’s think of where we might want to end up. There are a lot of good options in a state with as varied a landscape as New Mexico. Whether it is the famous mountains, the blue skies, or the untamed desert, there is almost guaranteed to be something for everyone. So be sure to stick around, because in the section below we will highlight some of New Mexico’s most spectacular places to live based on their natural beauty.
What is the prettiest city in New Mexico?
Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder, but some parts of New Mexico are widely considered to be prettier than others. What are the prettiest areas in New Mexico?
Well, while there is no accounting for taste, the following places are some of the most beautiful the state has to offer:
Los Alamos: While being the birthplace of the atomic bomb might be off-putting to some, don’t let it dissuade you from giving Los Alamos a try. The weather is routinely gorgeous, which means you have no excuse to not get outside and enjoy the beautiful landscapes as you hike through the area’s many mesas and canyons.
Abiquiu: The nearby geological wonder, Ghost Ranch, is one of the most spectacular displays of cliffside coloring you will find anywhere in the world. The reds and yellows of the rocks are most saturated during sunset. And it’s then that it can be easy to see why the area is called O’Keeffe Country, after the famous painter and former state resident.
Santa Rosa: You might not think of water recreation when you think of a place as arid as New Mexico, but this is actually what Santa Rosa is known for. Located due east of Albuquerque, Santa Rosa is home to Santa Rosa Lake which is one of the state’s prime spots for water sports. So, if you fancy a dip every now and then, a plot near Santa Rosa might be just for you!
White Sands National Park: People come from all over the world to marvel at New Mexico’s white sands. While you obviously can’t live in a National Park (unless you choose to dedicate yourself to the life of a park ranger) luckily there’s no need to, especially when the area surrounding White Sands National Park is beautiful itself. Enjoying the gypsum sand dunes is easiest if you choose to live in one of the nearby communities such as Las Cruces or Tularosa.
Silver City: With an estimated population just shy of 10,000, Silver City is a relatively small town in New Mexico’s Grant County. But what the town lacks in population it more than makes up for in community and spirit. The town is home to a vibrant artists commune, a historic downtown, and dozens of festivals each year. Nestled in the foothills of the Pinos Altos Range, natural beauty is just as abundant.
But of course, if you don’t see a part of New Mexico you’re interested in listed above, have no fear, the state has many more breathtaking vistas than just the five listed above and natural beauty isn’t limited to just those areas.
Final Word: New Mexico Land for Sale
So, there you have it, almost anything you want to know about buying and selling land in New Mexico. We’ve looked at how to use land listing websites, different types of land, where it is the cheapest, and where it may be the prettiest.
Think we missed something we should have mentioned? Are you still confused about a particular detail? Please, don’t hesitate to reach out! In the meantime, we hope you enjoyed reading and that you learned something new along the way, thank you!