# Shocked by Alaska Real Estate Prices



## Timberline (Feb 7, 2006)

Not looking for advice or anything, just rambling thoughts. We've been talking about a possible move to Alaska for a long time. I've been viewing real estate and comparing as close as I can to things here: acreage size, access, utilities, home size, mountain views, waterfront, and so forth.

Everyone said we'd be shocked by the prices. Well, they're right, but not they way they intended. The things I've seen so far are definitely much less expensive than here. I'm talking about real nice places on the road system, mostly in the south central part of the state, but away from Anchoage (I don't want to be near the city). I was showing some to dh and he just kept shaking his head, wondering if they were typos. He was ready to start making offers!

People don't realize how expensive it is to buy in the central mountains of CO. Same thing when we went to Hawaii. We went to some real estate offices, just for fun (I love looking at real estate). Everyone told us, you'll just die when you see the prices. They were about the same as here, we couldn't figure out what everyone found so shocking, we're just used to extremely high land prices. 

More excited than ever for our upcoming trip to the Great Land this spring. Going to celebrate our 25th anniversary and look at properties. :bouncy:


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

What kind of prices per acre?

I would imagine a lot of places in CO are expensive.

Land in Texas can vary from 1,500 to 10,000 an acre for good tillable land. Same in AR and MO and some other places.


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## PhilJohnson (Dec 24, 2006)

When I looked up there I thought generally real-estate was overpriced. I bought my current place with 5 acres for 30,000. I too would be curious what the price per acre is up there. I know I found some places at 500 dollars an acre but they were out in the middle of no where accessible by river or ATV trail.


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

PhilJohnson said:


> When I looked up there I thought generally real-estate was overpriced. I bought my current place with 5 acres for 30,000. I too would be curious what the price per acre is up there. I know I found some places at 500 dollars an acre but they were out in the middle of no where accessible by river or ATV trail.


Yeah you can find land in Texas for $500 an acre, maybe less, but it'll be desert land out in west Texas that I certainly don't want to live on.

NE Texas however has some excellent land for $1500 and acre and up at the north end of the Piney Woods region from about Paris Texas over to Texarkana.


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## TedH71 (Jan 19, 2003)

You can find land for $500 an acre in West and East Texas. Not sure about the Panhandle but was told that land is cheap there as well. I'm from Texas so I'm knowledgeable about land prices. Austin land prices are CRAZY! $10k to $40k per acre!


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## NorthCountryWd (Oct 17, 2008)

The available land in AK is limited. Most of the rest is Federal or Native corporate owned.

Prices up there are high, considering what you get for the money. I have land that I inherited in the mosquito breeding ground northwest of Denali NP and couldn't believe what it appraised for. 20 acres, little timber, crap soil (mostly muskeg), no potable water, no septic possible and float plane only or snowmachine access in winter.....$168,000 in 2009. It does have a Denali view tho.

I know that's a drop in the bucket compared to CO or Hawaii, but you also don't have to get in a plane to get to the grocery store and post office or spend days on a snowmachine.


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## Old Alaskan (Jul 25, 2010)

Less than 1 percent of the land in Alaska is privately owned. That keeps prices high. Statehood was a BIG MISTAKE!


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## Txrider (Jun 25, 2010)

Old Alaskan said:


> Less than 1 percent of the land in Alaska is privately owned. That keeps prices high. Statehood was a BIG MISTAKE!


Texas used to be that way, but the state eventually sold almost all of it off.


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## dogrunner (Mar 2, 2009)

Most of Alaska is Federal and Native not State owned. While I understand, and agree, with the "statehood was a big mistake" in many ways, there is also some good arguments the other way. The best thing I can say about Alaska'a land issues is that you hate the lack of available land until you actually own some!


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