A 2Q2008 report from Metrostudy identified Los Angeles/Coastal, the San Francisco Bay Area, Baltimore, Houston, and San Diego as the five most land-constrained markets in terms of months’ supply of vacant developed lot inventory, prompting Big Builder to launch an online survey to gauge our readers’ reactions.
While 42.9% of respondents agreed with the report’s findings, 14.3% disagreed, with one respondent stating, “Houston should never be in that list;” 42.9% were unsure as they were unaware of market specifics in those areas.
When asked to name other select markets that have started to become land constrained, respondents pointed to Seattle/Bellevue, Las Vegas, New York City, and urban areas in general.
A strong majority of respondents said they plan to buy land in the near future at 57.1%. As one respondent explained, “Banks will be forced to sell land at steep discounts. Deals will be available.
However, 28.6% said they did not plan to buy land in the near future, and 28.6% were unsure. “I think the market is still trending downward,” noted one respondent. “Even more importantly, land sellers have not lowered their prices enough.”
Learn more about markets featured in this article: San Francisco, CA.
