Residential sales may be soft, but Vermont land sales are not. Year-to-date (Jan 1 – Aug 31) the total number of parcels sold statewide jumped 42% compared to the same period in 2009 to 342 units while total dollars increased 52% to $35.5 million. Parcels sized from 10 to 24 acres were the most active with 95 units sold while those with 2 to 4 acres and less than 2 acres were also strong at 74 & 78 units respectively. Large parcel sales have also gained momentum. Twenty-seven 100+ acres parcels have sold so far this year in Vermont compared to 18 by this time last year. Three of these were priced in excess of $1 million and sold for $950K, $935K and $720K. All were in Windsor County. Three more 100+ acre parcels are under contract, 2 of which are in Windsor County. One of these Windsor County listings is in Pomfret, 117 acres with a list price of $1.2 million. A property in Stowe priced at $1.195 is also under contract, but it has only 15.2 acres. Twenty-six parcels sized from 50 to 99 acres have sold so far in 2010 compared to 14 in 2009. Thirty-five parcels with 25 acres but less than 50 acres have sold vs. Twenty-five in 2010.
Keep in mind, 2009 was especially slow and part of a longer trend downward. In 2008, 457 units sold for the period with a total dollar volume of $55 million. In 2007, 538 parcels sold with a total volume of $68.4 million and in 2006, 709 sold for a total of $89.2 million. Safe to say this year is far better than last and it would appear that we have turned the corner, but the Vermont Land market still has some “ground” to make up to get back to where it was a few years ago.