Rural land in West Texas kept gaining value this year. The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University reported that West Texas rural land averaged $3,008 an acre in the second quarter of 2026, up 14.29 percent. For families who own ranches between the Concho Valley and the Permian Basin, that number is worth understanding. Lee, Lee & Puckitt, a San Angelo ranch brokerage since 1962, explains what the figure says and what it does not.
Reading the Report
The research center tracks rural land sales by region across Texas and publishes quarterly averages. The West Texas region covers a wide area, so the $3,008 figure blends many kinds of land, from large grazing ranches to smaller recreational tracts. A single sale can move a quarterly number, so it is best read as a trend alongside longer term data.
What Drives Value on a West Texas Ranch
Averages are a starting point. The things that move a specific ranch above or below the regional number include:
- Water. Wells, live water, tank condition and pipelines.
- Access. Paved frontage and distance to town.
- Size. Smaller tracts usually bring more per acre than large ranches.
- Habitat and hunting. Deer, turkey and quail numbers and brush management.
- Minerals and wind or solar. Whether mineral rights or surface income come with the land.
- Improvements. Fences, pens, barns and housing.
Why Values Hold
Land is a limited resource, and Texas families have long seen ranch land as a store of value and a way to pass something lasting to the next generation. Recreational buyers from the cities, ranchers expanding their operations and long term investors all compete for good tracts. Good rain this fall across parts of West Texas and a strong deer outlook add to that demand.
Know What Your Land Is Worth
A regional average cannot tell an owner what their own ranch is worth. That takes an appraisal or a market analysis from someone who knows the local sales. Lee, Lee & Puckitt provides farm and ranch appraisals and Broker Price Opinions (BPOs) in addition to listing land.
Timing a Sale
Owners often ask when the best time to sell is. Fall and winter bring hunters and buyers out to look at land, and a ranch shows best when tanks are full and grass is up. Gathering surveys, well records, mineral and lease documents and tax valuation paperwork ahead of time helps a listing move smoothly once a buyer is ready to write a contract.
Call Lee, Lee & Puckitt
If you are thinking about selling, buying or simply want to know where your land stands, call Lee, Lee & Puckitt at 325.655.6989 or visit llpranchland.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average price of rural land in West Texas? The Texas Real Estate Research Center reported an average of $3,008 an acre for West Texas in the second quarter of 2026, up 14.29 percent.
Does that average apply to my ranch? Not directly. Water, access, size, habitat, minerals and improvements all change value. An appraisal or market analysis gives a property specific answer.
Where can I get a ranch appraisal? Lee, Lee & Puckitt provides farm and ranch appraisals and BPOs from its San Angelo office.
About Lee, Lee & Puckitt
Founded in Bronte in 1962 and in San Angelo since 1977, Lee, Lee & Puckitt is a ranch real estate firm run by ranchers. The firm sells and appraises land across Texas and New Mexico.
Sources
- Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University, Texas rural land market report, second quarter 2026
- Related: Land appraisals, West Texas listings, Contact
Photo: USDA NRCS Texas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnny_Hudman,_ranch_manager,_at_Stasney%27s_Cook_Ranch_in_Albany_Texas._(24814818880).jpg). Cropped.
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