Land values are skyrocketing around Sacramento. See the trend in your community

Home values have jumped sharply in the Sacramento region – but not as quickly as the value of the land underneath them.

The average value of an acre of Sacramento County land used for single-family housing was about $620,000 in 2017, up $356,000 from 2012, according to new data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. That’s a 135 percent increase. Over the same period, home values in Sacramento County rose about 85 percent, according to Zillow.com

The most valuable land in the region was near downtown Sacramento, followed by Davis and parts of Arden.

The average value of an acre of land in the 95816 ZIP code – parts of midtown and East Sacramento – was about $2.7 million in 2017. An acre in the 95819 or 95818 ZIP codes – East Sacramento and Land Park – cost an average of about $2.2 million.

The fastest growth in land values happened in south Sacramento. The average value of an acre in the 95823 ZIP code rose from $130,000 in 2012 to $471,000 in 2017, a jump of about 260 percent.

The federal data is based on more than 16 million appraisals across the nation. The researchers who conducted the survey found that the price of land:

▪ Increased in most areas between 2012 and 2017.

▪ Tended to rise faster than home prices.

▪ Appreciated most rapidly in areas with relatively high density of structures.

Statewide, the most valuable land is in San Francisco, where the average value of an acre was more than $15 million in 2017. By comparison, an acre of residential land in Lake, Tuolumne or Amador counties cost less than $100,000.

This story was originally published February 2, 2019 at 3:00 AM.