Land investment is a popular choice amongst people looking for higher returns. Would you like to see a higher return on your investment? Well then you should consider buying land.

The problem with regular investment opportunities such as bonds and IRA’s are that they return very minimal dividends because of low or stagnant interest rates. Coupled with this trend is a volatile stock and housing market. This means that it is becoming very risky to invest in stocks or real estate as the markets may crash. If the markets do pick up, growth is minimal and any significant ROI could take a while. 

For these reasons, people are looking to diversify their investment portfolios. What ways are investors diversifying? Investors are turning to Land investment groups for those higher dividends we all seek. One frequently asked question when it comes to land investment is whether or not it is actually a good investment?

Well, let’s provide a bit of perspective. Land investment, especially in the United States is proving to be quite lucrative. If you take the interest rates for bonds and IRA’s, in the current market you’ll be looking at an average of around 2% with a maximum of around 3% – 4% return. Now, according to the Chartered Surveyors’ Rural Land Market Survey, the value of agricultural land in the US over the last 20 years has increased by 130%. That’s an average increase of 6.5% a year. These figures look even better when you consider that the average land value has increased by over 30% in just the last year.

So why is Land so lucrative to an investor? Well, let’s provide a bit of context. According to the  2010 Rural Land Market Survey, supply for agricultural land is falling whilst the demand continues to increase. This means that the price of land is beginning to rise as supply is being outweighed by demand.

Added to this trend is the housing situation in the US; we are seeing a huge demand for housing as the population rises. Now, with such scarce land to build houses on, the government are flagging certain sites to be ‘rezoned’ for housing development. If you have land that was previously undeveloped, which is then rezoned for development, the strategic theory is an increase in land value. Land investment firms research and analyse the market for any potential rezoning and then look to invest money in these key sites.  Now is the time to buy Land.

Like with any diverse investment opportunity, you need to know that values can go up and down, so there is a certain degree of risk attached to it. Land investment is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority and you can’t guarantee that the land you invest in will be granted planning permission.

On the whole, if you are looking for an investment that has the potential for significant growth then you should consider buying Land, it’s a consistent and sensible choice in the current financial market.