Around here - there really is no price on an acre of land. Very few properties have that much land. A few towns away in Saddle River the minimum lot for building is 2 acres. It is a very exclusive community that Presidents retire to (Nixon lived there) and wealthy movie and TV stars live there. It used to be farm land which is why there is more room. The starting price there - on a dump of a house though is over 5 million. These days people buy old farmhouses for a fortune there and then bulldoze them and build Mc Mansions.

As I said though - real estate is a good investment (if you can afford the inital investment) because there is usually a good rate of return - even if you don't improve the property.

This area is less than 20 miles from New York City and the train station is 3 blocks from my house. You can be in Manhattan in 1/2 an hour. That also makes the area quite convienient and valuable. You have all the advantages of the city without actually living there. If you think the prices are high here - you should price a 2 bedroom condo in Manhattan. It's nuts.

Kathleen