Raw land does not usually sell over asking. Land buyers are patient by nature, they're rarely emotional about a parcel the way someone is about a kitchen, and most land sits long enough that the negotiation runs the other direction. We closed these 86 acres at $460,000 against a $450,000 list price.

The reason is that this wasn't really raw land, and that's exactly how I marketed it. Someone had already fenced all 86 acres in quality cyclone fencing. If you've ever priced fencing by the foot, stop and do that math, because a perimeter around 86 acres is a serious five-figure investment and nobody takes it on casually. There was a year-round pond too, and the words that matter there are "year round." Seasonal water is common in Pierce County. Water you can count on in August is a different asset entirely, and it's the first thing a buyer with livestock asks about.

Then there was the zoning, which is what made this listing interesting to price. R-10 allows one dwelling unit per ten acres, so 86 acres supports multiple home sites without anyone needing to fight the county for a rezone. That opened the property to two completely different buyers at once: the homesteader who wants all 86 for themselves, and the group of families who want to split it and build near each other. Those two buyers value the same dirt differently, and a listing that speaks only to one of them leaves money on the table.

So the marketing held both. The homestead story was the mountain views, the pond, the fencing, and enough room for as many animals or gardens as anyone could want, in an area built for fishing, hunting and hiking. The split story was the zoning math and the ability to bring people with you. Same property, two honest pitches.