I-35 corridor land values: where growth is moving next

If you own land near I-35, you have probably heard that it is worth a fortune. Sometimes that is true. Often it depends on a few things that are easy to miss from the road. This article reviews what public data says about land values and growth along the corridor, where the pressure is building and how to think about timing. It is general information, not investment advice.

What do recent land price figures show?

The Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center is the standard source for rural land values. Coverage of its 2025 report in Land Report put the statewide figure at $5,214 per acre, a rise of about 6.6 percent. A regional table for the fourth quarter of 2025, quoted in a Farm Credit Administration deck, showed the Austin, Waco and Hill Country region at $7,911 per acre, up 8.15 percent and a record. South Texas stood at $6,107. Northeast Texas, which includes much of the area north and east of Dallas, stood at $9,159, and the Gulf Coast and Brazos Bottom region, which includes the Houston side of the Triangle, stood at $11,502.

Two cautions matter. These are rural, mostly agricultural figures, so they understate land at the metro edge. And the research center has noted that sales volume has been weak, so a few deals can move an average.

Where is growth strongest along the corridor?

Population data helps show where land pressure is building. The Texas Tribune reported that four large metro areas, which include Austin, San Antonio, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, held about 68 percent of Texas’s 30.3 million residents in 2023. Texas 2036 said the region captured nearly 87 percent of the state’s growth from 2010 to 2023. Census Bureau estimates reported by the Texas Tribune showed Kaufman County, southeast of Dallas, as the fastest-growing in the state in 2024.

Put together with what we see in the field, several stretches of I-35 stand out.

What big projects could change values?

Highway projects reshape access and demand. TxDOT is rebuilding I-35 through central Austin in a program it describes as the I-35 Capital Express Central project, with a reported cost of about $4.5 billion. TxDOT’s project page lists segments with construction from 2025 into the early 2030s, and reporting indicates the schedule and packaging have shifted, so check current plans. Work like this changes traffic, frontage roads and nearby land use. The effect on rural land farther out is indirect, though it shapes how people choose where to live and work.

Other things to watch include utility extensions by cities and districts, new interchanges and frontage roads, annexation decisions, large employer announcements and changes to flood or aquifer rules. A water line approaching a farm can matter more than a headline about the whole region.

How should you think about timing?

No one can predict values with certainty, and the right timing for you depends on your own life. A framework helps.

1. Check where your land sits relative to utilities. Distance to water and sewer is often the most important factor for development value.
2. Check access and jurisdiction. Highway or farm road frontage, and whether the land is in a city, an ETJ or the county.
3. Count the carrying cost. Taxes, insurance and upkeep each year. An agricultural valuation lowers tax but adds rollback risk.
4. Compare certain and possible. A written offer today versus a higher price that may or may not come.
5. Ask for a second opinion. A land broker, an appraiser and a direct buyer each see it differently.
6. Decide what matters to you. Price, speed, privacy and effort have different weights for different people.

What are the signs that growth is near your land?

• A new subdivision or industrial building within a few miles.
• Utility line extensions or a new MUD in the area.
• Letters and calls from developers or brokers.
• A new interchange, frontage road or highway widening.
• Rising appraisals and a changing tax bill.
• Rezoning or annexation notices in your area.

None of these guarantees a price. Together they suggest that land is being priced for something other than farming.

What are the risks of waiting?

Waiting has costs. Taxes continue. Estate and family situations change. Markets and interest rates move. Land that is hard to access or has title problems may be harder to sell later, not easier. If you hold, keep your title clean, your taxes current and your records organized. If you sell, compare offers and ask how each buyer priced the land.

How can one utility line change a parcel’s value?

This example is invented, to show why distance to utilities matters so much. It is not a forecast for any real tract.

Suppose you own 50 acres near the corridor. Suppose a builder would pay $8,000 per acre if the buyer must bring water to the site, and $12,000 per acre if a water line already runs along your road. The difference is $4,000 per acre.

For 50 acres, the first price is $400,000 (50 times $8,000). The second is $600,000 (50 times $12,000). The gap is $200,000. A single utility extension, built by a city or district for its own reasons, could move that line from “far” to “at the road” without you spending anything.

That is why we suggest checking with your water provider and city before you decide to sell. Ask whether any extension is planned, funded or only talked about. A plan on paper is not the same as a pipe in the ground, and timing is hard to predict.

What does holding cost, and when does waiting pay?

Suppose a buyer offers $400,000 for the same 50 acres. You think values could rise, so you hold. Suppose the land keeps an agricultural valuation and your tax bill is about $800 per year. After three years you have paid $2,400 in taxes, plus insurance and upkeep. A later sale would have to bring more than $402,400 just to match the offer in dollars, before you count insurance, upkeep, rollback exposure, the risk that values do not rise and the fact that money today is worth more than the same money later.

If the land might gain $100,000 in value over that time, waiting looks smart. If it gains nothing, or loses ground, waiting looks costly. Nobody knows ahead of time. That is why a clear view of the specific signals around your land, such as utilities, access and nearby sales, is better than a guess about the whole corridor.

What should you check, by type of land?

How does growth usually reach a piece of land?

Growth tends to arrive in stages, though no two places follow the same script.

The point is not to guess the stage perfectly. It is to notice which way things are moving and decide how that fits your own plans.

What should you ask, and whom?

Ask the city, county or utility:

• Is my land inside city limits, the extraterritorial jurisdiction or the county only?
• Are water or sewer extensions planned near my parcel, and is the money committed?
• What road projects are scheduled, and when?

Ask a land broker or buyer:

• What have nearby tracts of similar size sold for recently?
• What would make my land worth more to a builder?
• How does a sale now compare with a sale later, after carrying costs?

Ask a Texas attorney:

• Are there deed restrictions, easements or access issues that limit use?
• How does annexation affect my land?

Ask a CPA:

• How will a sale be taxed, and does the timing matter?
• Should I think about an installment or other structure? See installment sale tax for the general idea.

What documents should you gather before you decide?

• Deed, survey and legal description. They show what you own and where.
• Tax statements and appraisal notices. They show valuation type and trends.
• Utility and road maps. Local governments and providers often publish them.
• Letters from developers or brokers. Keep them. They show demand.
• Mineral and lease documents. They show what comes with the land.
• Probate or heirship papers. For estates, they show who can sign.

With these in hand you can compare a sale now with holding in a more informed way.

What mistakes do corridor owners make?

• Assuming the highway alone makes land valuable. Utilities, access and zoning decide what a buyer can do.
• Counting on a headline project. A plan can slip, as the article above notes for the Austin rebuild.
• Holding too long out of habit. Taxes, family needs and estate timing do not wait.
• Selling too fast without a second opinion. Even if you want a quick close, ask how the buyer reached the number.
• Ignoring ag valuation and rollback. A buyer’s plans can change your net.
• Believing every letter. Check any buyer carefully. See land scam red flags.

For more, read our pages on the I-35 corridor and the Texas Triangle, and our guides to how much your land is worth and how cash offers are calculated. If you prefer to sell without an agent, see selling without a realtor. Our how it works page and the contact page are there when you are ready to talk.

By the Sell My Texas Estate team · Updated October 2026. General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk with a licensed Texas attorney or CPA about your situation.