Cheap Places to Buy Land

• Land is typically cheaper in areas with lower populations. Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images

  Historically, real estate has been considered a good investment; value generally increases in most places over time. For individuals interested in finding land to purchase, there are still areas of the country where there are bargains to be had, but in order to find cheap land, you may need to be willing to make some compromises.

High Foreclosure Rate Cities

• In the midst of the financial crisis that began in 2008, thousands of homes whose owners were delinquent in mortgage payments and/or taxes were repossessed by the bank. These properties are offered for sale on a regular basis by the banks, who are generally more concerned with getting their money out of them and getting rid of them than in achieving market value. As a result, there are bargains to be had at tax and foreclosure sales. States that have been particularly hard hit by the foreclosure crisis include Nevada, Florida, and Michigan. Some cities that had depressed economies even before the financial crisis began are full of houses for sale at under $25,000. These cities include Flint, Michigan; Detroit, Michigan; Rochester, New York and Buffalo, New York.

Remote Areas

• As a rule, higher population pressures lead to higher real estate prices. Although there are exceptions to this rule, such as high crime rate areas in large cities, this is generally the case; if you are looking for parcels at a low price per acre, you need to look where the people aren't. Areas in the United States where land can be bought at a reasonable price include rural South Dakota, northern Maine, and central Texas. Larger parcels almost always sell at a lower price per acre. If you are looking to buy one or two acres, you will pay a substantial price nearly anywhere. However, if you buy a parcel that is two or three hundred acres or more, it is still possible to buy land for under $200 per acre.

Other Countries

• If you are willing to get adventurous with your investment money and to go through the red tape that is sometimes required for foreign investments, other countries can offer land for sale at prices that seem abnormally low to someone from the United States. Be forewarned that buying land in a foreign country can lead to unexpected complications, both because you are a foreigner and because some countries don't have as tightly controlled real estate regulations as the United States. Explore the real estate possibilities of countries such as Botswana, Uganda, or Turkmenistan.