Sold: 500,000-Acre Property Has New Owners

The Great Western Ranch, a massive property on the west edge of New Mexico, has been sold to new owners. It is one of the largest single landholdings in the United States, spanning 504,801 acres. 

That is a lot of land. This gives you a better sense of what that looks like:  

• 790 square miles

• 70 miles from east to west

• 29 miles from north to south

• 76% the size of Rhode Island 

The ranch was previously owned by the family behind D.R. Horton, a nationwide homebuilding company based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to WFAA-TV in Dallas.  It was originally listed for $115,000,000. The new owner has not been made public yet. 

What makes the Land Unique

 Jeff Buerger, Partner with Hall and Hall, who represented the sellers, said, “This ranch is more than just land; it’s a living testament to generations of thoughtful management. Its importance for wildlife, particularly bull elk, mule deer, and antelope, as well as its historical significance, cannot be overstated.”

The land is located in the heart of one of the most productive big game and livestock grazing regions in the western United States.

Because of its location, it has several income sources. According to Hall and Hall, the ranch will support one of the largest livestock operations in the country. In addition to that, it participates in a lease arrangement with Black Mountain Outfitters, a business that takes hunters on high-end, guided trips through the property. 

But its real value could be tied to something else: there aren’t many places like this anywhere in the country.

Legacy Ranches and their Appeal

Eric O’Keefe, Editor of The Land Report and the magazine American Landowner, writes about some of the biggest land transactions in the country. He explains to American Farmland Owner how a property of this size and price was able to sell in such a short amount of time.

“Investors continue to be drawn to legacy ranches, especially those with one-of-a-kind attributes such as the half-million-acre Great Western Ranch, which was brought to market, went to contract, and sold in less than a year,” O’Keefe said.

You won’t find the term “Legacy Ranch” in a dictionary, but O’Keefe describes it like this: 

“Think of a legacy ranch as a local or even regional landmark. It has history. It has significance. It has a story. Quite often legacy ranches tie to a specific family. In some instances, they were pioneers or homesteaders. Others might have a more recent tenure. But they are always seen as shepherding the ranch: for decades, generations, and even centuries.”

Buerger sums up the value of the Great Western Ranch like this: “The Great Western Ranch presents a rare opportunity to acquire an exceptionally well-diversified income-generating, multi-dimensional land asset class, where its value is directly tethered to its rarity and its inability to be replicated.” 

Property Features

Water

• 86 operational wells (solar and electric)

• Hundreds of dirt tanks, catch ponds, small lakes, and stock tanks

Fencing

• 2,230 miles of fencing

• 134 individual sections of pasture

Infrastructure

• Internal roads that reach remote parts of the ranch

• Housing

• Ranch outbuildings

History of the Property 

According to Hall and Hall, the land is known for its history as well. Some of the sites date back to the Anasazi period. The ranch has historical and archaeological sites, including Anasazi petroglyphs, ruins, and the tumbled-down stone homes and corrals of New Mexico’s earliest homesteaders.