How much is your land worth in Texas? How to put a number on it

What an acre of Texas land sells for in 2026

The best public benchmark comes from the Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center, which tracks rural land sales across the state. In its report for the second quarter of 2026, the statewide price settled at $5,218 an acre. That's essentially flat from the quarter before ($5,219) and 3.3% higher than a year earlier.

The statewide figure blends very different markets. The regional numbers show how wide the spread is:

For local figures in the counties around Dallas-Fort Worth, see our guide to selling land in North Texas.

Why smaller tracts sell for more per acre

Price per acre falls as tracts get bigger. A 20-acre tract has far more possible buyers than a 1,000-acre ranch: families looking for a homesite, recreational buyers, investors, and farmers expanding next door. Texas A&M points to that larger pool of buyers as the reason small tracts bring higher prices per acre.

The Center tracks small tracts separately. Depending on the region, that usually means tracts under 35 to 160 acres. In the fourth quarter of 2025, small tracts sold for about $8,330 an acre in West Texas, $9,460 in the Panhandle, $14,900 in South Texas and $17,529 in the Austin-Waco-Hill Country region. The statewide price for larger tracts was $5,214 at the time.

Lots of a few acres or less don't appear in any of these figures. Near growing towns they can sell for several times the rural averages, especially with paved frontage and water service at the road. For those, local sales are the only reliable guide.

Is your appraisal district value what the land is worth?

Usually not. Texas law has appraisal districts value property at market value as of January 1 (Tax Code Section 23.01), and they do it by mass appraisal across thousands of parcels at once. The market value on your notice can land well above or below what a buyer would pay for your particular tract.

Part of the reason is that Texas keeps sale prices out of the public record. Deeds here don't have to state the price, and they usually don't. When a buyer or seller shares a price with the appraisal district, Tax Code Section 22.27 keeps it confidential, and Government Code Section 552.149 keeps sales information the district receives from private sources out of public records requests. So neither you nor the district can simply look up what the neighbor's land sold for.

The ag value trap

If your land has an agricultural (1-d-1) valuation, your notice shows two numbers: a market value and a much lower productivity value. The productivity value is worked out from the net income the land could typically earn from farming or ranching, averaged over five years (Tax Code Section 23.52). Your taxes are based on it. It has nothing to do with what a buyer would pay.

Some owners see a very low productivity value and assume the land is nearly worthless. Others see a high market value and hold out for it. Treat both as tax figures and look for real sales instead.

What makes one tract worth more than another

• Road frontage and access. Paved frontage is worth far more than land reached by a private easement. Land with no legal access is a special case, covered in our landlocked land guide.
• Utilities. A water line at the road, electricity nearby, and soil that can take a septic system decide what a buyer can build.
• Floodplain. Land inside a FEMA flood zone is harder to build on and to finance, so it sells for less. A tract that's only partly in the floodplain may still have good building sites.
• Size and shape. Smaller tracts bring more per acre. Odd shapes, steep ground and narrow strips bring less.
• Distance to growing towns. Land in the path of new roads, schools and subdivisions sells at a premium.
• Water features and cover. Ponds, creeks and mature trees add value for homesite and recreational buyers.
• Minerals. On many Texas tracts the minerals were separated from the surface decades ago. Check whether you own them before you price the land.
• Restrictions. Deed restrictions, a property owners' association, city limits and a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ) all shape what can be done with the land.

How to work out a realistic price for your land

1. Start with the Texas A&M data for your region and tract size. It gives you a rough range to start from.
2. Look at active listings of similar land nearby. These are asking prices. Land often sells below them, and overpriced tracts can sit unsold.
3. Ask a land agent for sold comparables. Agents can see closed prices in their MLS that the public can't. Many will prepare a market analysis when you're thinking about listing.
4. Hire an appraiser if you need a formal opinion, for an estate, a family buyout or your tax records. Texas appraisers are licensed or certified by the Texas Appraiser Licensing and Certification Board, and you can check a license on its website.
5. Adjust for your tract. Compare frontage, access, utilities, floodplain and size with each sale, and move your number up or down.

Are Texas land prices going down?

Statewide, prices have leveled off. Texas A&M described the market in mid-2026 as moving into a stable-to-soft phase. The five-year annualized growth rate has slowed to about 8.2%, total acres sold were down about 12.6% from a year earlier, and total dollar volume was down about 9.7%.

The Center calls it a standoff. Many sellers are still anchored to 2022 and 2023 prices, while buyers are cautious after years of steep increases and higher interest rates. Its baseline forecast calls for small price increases in the near term, then flat to slightly lower prices next year, with sales volume not expected to recover until late 2026 or 2027.

Regions are moving differently. Northeast Texas and the Panhandle were down from a year earlier, while West Texas and the Austin-Waco-Hill Country region hit record highs. If you're pricing land now, price it against sales from the past year or so.

How long a land sale takes

The biggest factor is price. In spring 2026, Texas A&M reported that market professionals were seeing more inventory and longer days on market for tracts without superior quality or a prime location. Well-priced land with good access still draws interest.

Once you and a buyer sign a contract, the timeline is set in writing. Under the standard Texas contract for vacant land (TREC form 9-18):

• The buyer delivers the earnest money and any option fee to the title company within 3 days.
• The buyer can cancel for any reason during the option period, if one was agreed.
• The title commitment is due within 20 days after the title company receives the contract, and a survey may be needed.
• Closing happens on the date written in the contract, or within 7 days after any title objections are cured, if that's later.

A buyer who needs a loan adds an appraisal and loan approval to that list. Our guide to selling land in Texas without a realtor walks through each step.

Keeping the land versus selling it

Holding land has a cost even when you never visit it. Without an ag valuation, you pay taxes on the full market value, which the appraisal district sets as of January 1 each year. Insurance, mowing, fence repairs and the risk of someone getting hurt on the land add to it.

One change to watch: since 2024, a temporary "circuit breaker" in Tax Code Section 23.231 has capped yearly increases in appraised value at 20% for property other than a homestead worth up to about $5 million. It doesn't apply to land with an ag valuation, and it expires on December 31, 2026. If your land's taxable value has been held below its market value, the 2027 appraisal could jump.

Keeping land makes sense if you have a use for it, or if growth is clearly heading your way. If neither is true, compare what a sale would leave you with the cost of holding on. Our guide to the costs of selling land in Texas shows what comes out at closing.

If you're weighing a sale, you can also tell us about your land. We'll research it and talk through the numbers with you within 24 hours, with no obligation. Whoever you talk to, make sure your price rests on real sales.