Water and the value of land in Arizona

[pengyou]

I was going to post this in the real estate section but I was thinking that the people that I hope to chime in are not looking to buy or sale but are familiar with what is going on in their neighborhood.

In Arizona - or Nevada, Utah, etc what is likely to be the price difference between 10 acres with water services (e.g. city water, etc) 10 acres with a community well, 10 acres with its own well and 10 acres with a well designed successful rainwater capture system?

[PNWest]

May I suggest you contact Real Estate persons with your questions. That is actually very technical as you have to balance what the cost of the systems add to the purchase price.

There are indubitably 'for sale' magazines, Zillow on the internet and your own investigation. This is called 'due diligence' BEFORE you spend money on land.

[AmericanStand]

Weird as it seems Id say nothing.
Its location that matters most. After that any dependable water supply is fine.

BUT I see places with no water selling for big money and places with great water not bring much at all.

[Wolf mom]

Pretty in depth question as you're asking about a whole state. Actually more than one state.

I come from AZ and prices can be all over the board for 10 acres with well or whatever. I have 17 acres for sale with a 450 ft. well and electricity (no house) to the back of the property - bordered on 2 sides by the national forest at 6000 ft elevation for $150,000.

I just sold a 5 acre property with 350 ft well with 15 X 15 block pump house, 1600 sq ft house & out buildings, fully fenced (part pipe) for 160,000. BUT that's the White Mountains of AZ. In parts of southern AZ you could buy 20 acres with all that for 120,000.

If you want that 10 acres someplace else, it may be a lot more or a lot less depending upon what else you want. Down south maybe cheaper as it's mostly desert. Further west, maybe a lot more if it's near Sedona. Close by my land, without water (ya' gotta haul it) 40 acres is selling for 20,000 total.

You need to think hard about what you want - how close to a city? hospital? what are you going to use the property for? Need a job - that'll figure in also. Do this before you even think about buying property. you need to narrow your choices.

And don't even think of a community well unless it has really good enforceable CC&R'S.

[rambler]

All have a water supply so all would be equal in my view, more or less.

Personally, I prefer a good working well. That gives you good water supply, your control. Needs to be dependable tho.

A city water pipe running by would probably be next, it gives you access to water with little hassle. Costs will always go up, but it will be there with little drama.

Community supplies not run by the govt tend to become mini kingdoms, run by people who wish they controlled the world, and try to take it out on the rest in the neighborhood. There is just way too much drama in those neighborhood deals. Ick.

A man made pond for my water would take careful consideration. Where does the surface water come from, how much comes, does it dry up during dry periods, in an arid area it just seems a tough thing to depend on for water 365 days a year..... Then does it clear off streets or roads or where does the water come from, is it really clean enough for drinking or livestock? So I'd be second most happy with a good one of these, but least happy with a poor one. Highly variable.

But if all of the above were providing dependable water, I would consider location, land type, access, and so on and not worry about the water situation too much.

Paul

[pengyou]

Thanks so much! Yes, I know the question was vague but your answers taught me where to look, what is important and how to narrow down my scope.

[arabian knight]

As far as AZ goes and collection of water. It depends on where a person lives. Elevation plays a big part in how much collectable rain one can get, even on The High Desert is only 13 inches on average a year. That is not much unless you really have a large roof system.