Dear Noela; I am located in SW Missouri and can not imagine those kind of Prices for Property near or adjoing a national Forest. Mark Twain National Forest has 1,000's of Acres here in the surrounding area and it can be purchased for $ 2,000 to $ 7,000 per acres depending upon how much land you purchase. If you really are just looking for that type of property give my site a Look See.

It is a definite bonus to have your lot next to national forest - so if you were comparing to nearly identical lots and one was on the national forest boundary obviously most people would be willing to pay more for it.

How much more is the tricky part. The law of supply and demand comes into effect. For example, in Albuquerque the only lots that I am aware of adjacent to national forest are in areas such as High Desert - and a 1/4 acre lot can demand over $600k. However out in Mountainair land is abundant so your not going too see that large of a spread between an "average" lot and a "premium" lot near forest.

P.S. I don't know if you are out of state or local - but you may want to hold off on buying out there untill you see how this fire settles out.

Always feel free to contact me with further specifics or questions!

We live next to the Chequamegon National Forest since 1997 as well as worked this area since 1998 when I became a REALTOR agent. The true fact is that the land has been accessed a much high rate by the assessors making it higher in price than any other land. Their reason told to me by one of these assessor's was because it is totally free recreational land for families to enjoy: camping year around; taking photos of animals, flowers, trees, insects; walking trails; winter: snow shoeing, skiing, snowmobiling; training their dogs; hunting; following ATV trails, swimming &/or fishing their rivers & lakes or even just boating for the scenry. Lowest cost for some of things, but living next to one is basically having all these things free and assessor's feel that it is compensates for the privilege! The people have shown a demand for this kind of land making it one of the highest on the market! So to say it commands a higher price is wrong, to say it is worth a higher price is the correct statement! Have a great day! [Do have some on my web sites!]

Yes absolutely. Nature lovers and the natural wildlife offers a serene setting with loads of privacy and makes it very desirable therefore driving the cost higher.