Texas’ biggest ranch news of 2023

From Entourage star Adrien Grenier’s sustainable homestead goals in Bastrop to Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan’s Hollywood-meets-Wyoming 6666 Ranch in North Texas, and T. Boone Pickens’ former retreat in the panhandle, the dream of a Texas ranch has something for everyone.

Texas rural land prices swung upward before and after the Great Recession, and they’ve skyrocketed since the pandemic.

The nominal price per acre in the third quarter was $4,679, according to the Texas A&M Real Estate Center. Prices for rural land increased by double-digit percentages for two years in a row, finally slowing in the second quarter of this year, when the increase was a little under 7 percent. About 4,500 acres changed hands this year, according to the real estate center.

Here is the Texas ranch news that caused the most industry chatter in 2023.

Terry Bradshaw offloads 800 acres on the Red River 

Dallas-based Icon Global listed this NFL legend’s ranch for $22.5 million. The spread is just across the Red River in Thackerville, Oklahoma, about an hour-and-a-half drive from Dallas.

It sold in November after five years on the market and a previous deal that fell through. The Bradshaws lived on the ranch and bred quarter horses there. 

The buyer was Red River Equine, a joint venture between Billy and Suzonne Franks of Texas and Chad and Tiffany Beus, recent transplants from Utah.

Rancho el Saeno on market for first time since 1840

This 600-acre ranch in Hidalgo County, in South Texas, hit the market for $2.4 million in September. That’s $4,000 per acre.

It has been owned by the same family since five years before Texas became a state. It was granted to Battle of San Jacinto veteran Elder B. Barton in 1836, who sold it to distant relatives four years later.

This land has never been cleared, and is a wildlife habitat that’s home to interesting flora, including dragon fruit plants, palo verde, tenaza, and ocote.

JL Pepe Guerra of Foster Farm and Ranch has the listing. 

Less Ranch draws six offers

The 2,200-acre Less Ranch near San Antonio was listed for $55 million, and it sold in June after receiving six offers.

Listing agent Robert Dulling of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty said it was the second-biggest sale of his career, although he didn’t disclose the price.

The seller was a charitable trust of the Less family, which had owned it since 1955. The buyer wasn’t identified. 

The ranch has two lakes, 1 mile of creek frontage, 4 miles of creek tributaries and a number of springs.

Luxury mini ranches in development near Houston

Any run-of-the-millionaire can live out their Texas ranching dreams in a development taking shape an hour north of Houston.

A joint venture of Frankel Design Build and U.S. Capital Advisors is planning the 1,900-acre Gates Crossing. 

The development will offer 40 homesites ranging from 14 acres to 160 acres, and priced between $600,000 and $4.8 million. The smallest home will span 2,800 square feet.

Residents will also have access to a 600-acre preserve along the Brazos River, over 3 miles of water frontage, and designated areas for hunting and recreation.

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