Fairview and Lucas, Texas, have been in transition since the year 2000. They were two small, sleepy country towns, and many people, even in Allen right next door, didn't know they existed. They were considered "too far out". It was a challenge to sell homes back then. I kept hearing, "I love the home and lot, but where will I go to do my shopping?". When the residential developers (not commercial) started moving in, it became a rush to buy the best large tracts of land and it's been a wild ride since then.
Fairview and Lucas development tracts, especially within Lovejoy School District, are few and far between. Everyone is looking for another developable site of decent size, but at this point in time, it just isn't out there. What you'll find is the available lots remaining within Lovejoy ISD will probably cost around $700K.
As far as available wooded lots, those were gone long ago. There are none left within a development or not. Those were the first land and lots to sell, so they now have many older homes. If you're dead set on building your home on a wooded lot, the only way is to buy an older home that requires updating or can just be torn down.
If the homeowner hasn't updated their home over the years, it might not be cost-effective to undertake a total update unless it was bought at a bargain price. Believe me, those don't come up for sale very often. What's starting to make sense is finding a home that needs extensive updating and a seller ready to sell their home "as is" without repairs. In my opinion, the magic number for a home like that is around $600K. The buyers will be surrounded by similar older homes, but they'll have their wooded lot.
Every once in a blue moon, a one-off lot with an obvious tear-down home hits the market. We just sold one at 791 Country Club in Fairview, shown just below. Angie Johnson sold this lot quickly because the buyer agent recognized the potential.
The buyer will tear this home down to build a nice-sized home on the lot. With the building line setbacks, septic system, and possibly even a pool, they are obviously going to have to go "up" rather than "out," so it's going to be fun to watch it under construction.
By the way, the lot was priced at $350K. Double that to make it a one acre lot and you're at $700K, so there you go 😁
By the way, although we're known for selling expensive luxury homes, we also love properties like this. They can appeal to buyers wanting to get into Lovejoy School District more affordably, investors, or builders looking for a lot outside of developments.
Below is another example of a tear down home on a larger lot. You can see the small home (876 SF) to the right. The lot was an odd shape but it was also just shy of one acre and priced at only $210K. The sale took place in 2017 and this one was painful for me. I had a buyer for it lot ready to go with an offer, but for some reason they lost interest. It went under contract to someone else shortly thereafter 😞
