In this down market 20 acres in the middle of nowhere will be hard to sell. Is the property near a lake, maybe in horse country, etc.

Are the other small parcels for sale or have houses built on them?
What attractions are in the area?
How far is it to a town or city?
How good are the schools in the area?
Is there a water supply on the land, maybe a well, etc.?
Is electricity nearby?
How far off a main highway is the property?

All the questions above are relevant to attracting a buyer.

You say it is recreational property. What type of recreation? Here recreational property usually means hunting land or, if waterfront, fishing. There are agents that specialize in that type of land and market to the target buyer pool statewide and, with larger parcels, regionally.

Thanks for the responses! Yes, there is a large lake nearby and it is considered prime hunting area. No well on the property and it does border a road which has power along the road so building is a possibility. I guess I will just have to "highlight" more of those features. I have pictures posted also. Thanks for the help!

Google "hunting land for sale" and your state and you'll probably get some good ideas and see who the major realtors are in the area. You'll also see how the land is advertised and might get some ideas on where to post.

If it is prime hunting property, could you contact some of the hunting/fishing clubs in the area? They might be interested for building some sort of cabins etc.

A lake "nearby" doesn't make it recreational property. Lake access does. 20 acres is too small for any real hunting to take place unless there are reciprocal agreements with adjacent property owners. If any adjacent property owners are Posted, then that takes that bit of attraction away. True hunting property is measured in the hundreds to thousands of acres.

Think back to what made you buy the property in the first place. Why did you buy it? That's who your target market is.

However, you are not going to reach that target market without putting in on the MLS to be visible. You need a realtor, even if they are a flat fee realtor.

Thanks for the advice 'live wire oak'. It's true what you say; I was just trying to think of things to "lure" people to the property. The lake is a national recreation area and the property is only minutes away. As for the hunting we own some of the property bordering this one and there is alot of state land in this area that allows hunting on it. Not to mention a home could be built on it or a manufactured home. I suppose it should be listed with a realtor; at least I wouldn't have to deal with it!!!

One thing you may want to look into is how difficult it will be for people to build on this property--if that's their inclination.

I have a friend who has some riverfront property. Her plan was to sell their house in the city, and build a home on this lovely piece of land. Well, she did sell the house, moved in with a family member in the meantime--and tried to get her plan started. Thanks to the environmental regulations imposed by the EPA, she's now up to about $50,000 that she's spent, without ever moving so much as a 'tablespoon of dirt'.

Trying to build on natural land can be VERY difficult, and extraordinarily expensive. You're going to have to consider that as you try to price this parcel. Many buyers are going to be aware of the uphill battle they're going to have.

Oh, and my friend? 4 years later, she STILL can't build, her resources are about depleted, she's trying to sell off a couple of lots from her parcel--but hasn't been able to find anyone interested. And this land is not just recreationan in itself--being riverfront property--but it's not far from some of the shore resorts. So it's a great location.

I, too, think a specialized agent, one who is enthusiastic and will know how to market this property is going to be well worth the cost of his commission. It may be the only chance you have to sell for a decent price.

azzalea,

Ah, I feel for your friend on regulations and permits, etc.!!
We built our house on exactly this same type of property that we now are selling. But, we investigated ahead of time into what it would take to build in this area. While we had no environmental issues, heck, the only permit we needed was from the county to build the house and it was cheap! However, we had to clear, excavate, put in a well, a driveway but there are no regs like that here, it is still too rural; beautiful country, untouched by politics so far :)

azzalea - Tell your friend I feel her pain. But at least she still has a chance.

We own property in a subdivision on the Severn River. Even though there are houses all around us, the county health dept has stonewalled us.