The Race For Ranches: How The No. 1 Ranch Division in North Texas Has Shaped This Red-Hot Market

After months of at-home life, COVID has made land more than just attractive. Room to roam and spread out is necessary, and likewise, the popularity of the rugged ranch has grown just the same. Some want acres of pasture, some want a show-ready barn, and some want all of that and more.

Now, imagine a haven that’s all yours — away from it all — one with views in every direction, that you could drive to, anytime, without setting foot in an airport. Imagine that this idyllic place is also a haven for your money — not only a place with potential tax benefits but also one of the safest bets there is when it comes to investing. Imagine that this place can be enjoyed by every generation in your family — including the ones to come — no matter what is happening in the world around us.

A ranch is this place. And no one knows this like the unique group of agents who specialize in ranches and land at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty. These agents have had a heck of a couple of years making this concept a reality for a wide range of clients.

Here are some whopper statistics to back that up: The Ranch and Land division at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty was No. 1 in ranch sales in North Texas in 2021, with a full 32 percent of the market, the latter according to land.com. In the entire state of Texas, the group was No. 3 for the year — at a total sales volume of $371 million. The brokerage’s top-ranking individual for 2021 is a ranch agent: Tyler Thomas, of the TT Ranch Group.

Ranches are really hot.

Some other eyebrow-raisers? Ranch sales in Texas have nearly doubled between the second quarter of 2021 and the previous year, according to the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University.

During that quarter, there were more than 9,000 land sales in the state, according to the San Antonio Report. That’s a very healthy increase of 13 percent compared to the same period in 2020. “Statewide, prices ballooned,” says the Report, with the price-per-acre increasing almost 18 percent in the last year.

The Ranch and Land Division at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty is a world-class group — both teams and individuals — who specialize in land, farm, recreation, and rural properties. They sell in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, Mexico, and the rest of the world. In fact, as part of Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty, the Ranch and Land Division is also part of the $204 billion Sotheby’s International Realty network of 25,000 agents in 1,000 offices in 79 countries and territories. The relationships these ranch agents build and nurture are what separate them from the rest — and keep their businesses exceptionally strong.

A standout sale in a very busy year was Rocosa Ridge Ranch in Clifton, Texas, a superb property of almost 6,000 acres in desirable Bosque County. It was listed for $26,350,000 and represented by Tyler Thomas. Another impressive statistic? The Ranch and Land Division sold nine properties in 2021 that were listed for more than $10 million each. The total volume that the Ranch and Land team achieved in 2021 — that $371 million — is on par with ranch brokerages twice the size.

It has been a strong seller’s market: Demand has been greater than supply, fueled in part by the pandemic and the urge to be away from urban areas. Demand for property within 90 minutes of the Dallas/Fort Worth area especially skyrocketed. Plus, many buyers continue to seek avenues for alternative investments and sellers continue to capitalize on record appreciation. The desire for alternative investments that pay in ways other than economic returns — family, fun, recreation, fellowship, time outside — has become even more important.

The Ranch and Land Division experts predict that the market will continue to be strong, especially as more people continue to move to Texas. Inventory will continue to be scarce because the desire for land and for country living is expected to stay strong — and perhaps increase — as buyers look for tangible assets that are also eminently enjoyable.

That’s the thing about these ranch-and-land agents at Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realty: They can demonstrate that ranches are a great way to park wealth, hedge against inflation and enjoy long-term price appreciation. They can tell you all about possible tax exemptions if you raise cattle, crops, sheep, goats, and even bees on your ranch. They can tell you about the potential for oil, gas, minerals, and wildlife.

But what impresses us most is that they deeply understand the magic of the land — the connection that comes from getting out of our big cities and suburbs and getting under bigger skies and bigger thoughts.