Where to buy raw land — and where to think twice.

Prior Appropriation governs water throughout the West: rights are allocated by seniority and adjudicated by the State Engineer. In drought years, junior rights holders may receive zero water. BLM and Forest Service land borders many private parcels, creating inholding access challenges. Zoning is minimal to nonexistent outside municipal boundaries — you can typically build without a permit on your own parcel, but utility infrastructure is costly.

Riparian reasonable-use doctrine governs water — landowners with surface water frontage generally have access rights, making water availability less of a gamble than in the West. Hunting and timber land dominate the market. Many rural Southeast counties have no zoning code whatsoever. Land prices are favorable, but due diligence must still address mineral rights severance (historically common in coal and gas country), flood zone exposure, and deed chain gaps from older estate sales.

The corn and soybean belt. Farmland per-acre prices run high ($4,000–$14,000/acre for productive ground) because of agricultural income capitalization. "Raw land" in the traditional undeveloped sense is limited — most unimproved acres are in active crop production or enrolled in CRP. True timber and recreational parcels exist but are rare and priced as a premium on the ag base. Tile drainage systems, drainage districts, and FSA payment histories add complexity to due diligence.

Dense environmental regulations, wetlands protections, and state-level Land Use Regulation (LURA) laws in states like Maine and Vermont can severely constrain buildability. Prices are high relative to available rural acreage. Shoreland zoning, setback requirements, and Act 250-style permitting can make even large parcels effectively unbuildable without significant legal and engineering effort. Not recommended for first-time rural land buyers seeking simple rural homesteads.