Travis Ackerman Explains the Latest From North Colorado’s Land Market

Leading North Colorado real estate broker Travis Ackerman considers the latest figures from the region’s land market.

The North Colorado land market, which encompasses Larimer and Weld Counties, most recently recorded more than 1,650 acres of land sales during the second quarter of 2019, changing hands for a total of almost $58 million. According to leading local real estate broker Travis Ackerman, an exact total of 1,668.1 acres and a combined value of $57.9 million represent the second-strongest quarter on record since early 2017.

“A rebound from a slow first quarter when only 605 acres sold in the North Colorado market, the average price per acre fell to a little over $34,000,” reveals Ackerman, a director for Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Real Estate based in Fort Collins.

This is a far cry, says the expert, from the more than $88,000 per acre recorded in the slower, volume-wise, first quarter. “Nonetheless, it’s worth noting,” he adds, “that the $88,700 per acre total recorded during the first quarter of 2019 was the highest price for an acre on record.”

“Still,” Travis Ackerman continues, “the most recent figure of $34,100 per square acre continues to track well behind the average for the past three years, equivalent to $42,900 per acre.”

This swing, the expert believes, is most likely down to a number of extreme outliers, rather than a general trend of declining land value in the market. “Recent sales have been largely focused on commercial land, with equal to around 60 percent of all recent land transactions being commercial in nature,” he explains.

Of notable outliers, Travis Ackerman points toward a near-1,000-acre sale which took place between Weld County Roads 17 and 19 along Weld County Road 42. “Due to the size of the plot, the sale broke down to a per-acre price of $10,000,” he reveals, “which is one reason why the price per acre has plummeted this quarter in particular.”

Another notable outlier, according to the real estate expert, was the sale of 2600 County Line Road, a 100-acre parcel of land which sold for more than $7.6 million, equivalent to an average price per acre of just over $76,200.

“Demand for land in the North Colorado market remains strong,” suggests Ackerman, “and the local economy continues to be regarded among the best in the nation.”

The northern Colorado land market, therefore, he says, will continue to benefit. “More master-planned communities are also likely to come online,” adds Ackerman, wrapping up, “as both residential and commercial development continues to move further north along Interstate 25.”

Travis Ackerman is a director for Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Real Estate specializing in the sale and lease of land and industrial, retail, and office space in North Colorado. Since 2007, Colorado State University graduate Ackerman has been involved in a total of more than 500 transactions worth in excess of $350 million. Known in the North Colorado real estate community for his integrity and work ethic, realtor and Colorado native Travis Ackerman is now recognized as one of the top commercial brokers in the region.