I'm looking for a place to settle with my family.  What can I expect for property values ?  I'm looking to get away from urban areas.  I would like to get a good size piece of property (10-20+ acres), that is huge by east coast standards.

Sioux Falls "is" an urban area by South Dakota standards.

The land surrounding Sioux Falls isn't cheap by South Dakota standards.

I suggest moving to the hinterlands, like maybe Buffalo County.. It's still East River and land is a lot cheaper.

There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of abandoned farm houses in SD. A guy could buy the house, barn and surrounding 10 or 20 or maybe 100 acres, build a new house, get Mid Dakota water hooked up (good stuff), get the well going again just in case, raise a few cattle, a few hogs and have a real nice place.. for a lot less than building around Sioux Falls.

You'll have one of the few places in the world where you can step out the back door and empty your M1 Garand without anyone giving a damn about the noise.. except maybe your wife..  If you get enough acres you'll have your own Deer and Pheasant hunting paradise.

Quoted: Sioux Falls "is" an urban area by South Dakota standards. The land surrounding Sioux Falls isn't cheap by South Dakota standards. I suggest moving to the hinterlands, like maybe Buffalo County.. It's still East River and land is a lot cheaper. There are literally hundreds, maybe thousands, of abandoned farm houses in SD. A guy could buy the house, barn and surrounding 10 or 20 or maybe 100 acres, build a new house, get Mid Dakota water hooked up (good stuff), get the well going again just in case, raise a few cattle, a few hogs and have a real nice place.. for a lot less than building around Sioux Falls. You'll have one of the few places in the world where you can step out the back door and empty your M1 Garand without anyone giving a damn about the noise.. except maybe your wife..  If you get enough acres you'll have your own Deer and Pheasant hunting paradise.

Thanks for the reply.  I'll be pretty much limited to working in Sioux Falls.  So I am trying to get a grip on what the area would be like within a 30-45 minute driving time area.

Oh.. sorry.. I thought you were looking for a place to retire..

Try this

www.siouxfallshomesource.com/

www.bartellco.com/

www.farmandhomerealestate.com/l_welcome-sioux-falls-south-dakota-real-estate.asp

In the sioux falls area you might want to scale back that 10-20 acres to 1-2 acres... Sioux Falls land and housing prices are insane compared to the South Dakota outback...

You'll have one of the few places in the world where you can step out the back door and empty your M1 Garand without anyone giving a damn about the noise.. except maybe your wife..

The heck with that, get a full auto!

KOW:

I live in Brookings, just 45 minutes north of Sioux Falls.  We moved here last year from Portland OR and really like it.  I am a realtor and may be able to help.  No pressure just insights into what we found and where we landed.  Sioux Falls is a great town and SD is a very nice place to live.  I am not a member of the Sioux Falls MLS but may be able to provide some perspective.

EDIT to ADD: when we moved here we looked long and hard at Sioux Falls there are some great areas and homes.  The price point is quite reasonable compared to the coasts.  With some more information about what you are looking for, I can help point you in the right direction.

Give me a call or send me an IM.  My cell number is 605-651-3944.  

Wishing you and yours the very best,

Blair Collins

I've lived in SD for too long, and in Sioux Falls for about 3 years now.

If I might ask, which industry do you work in? Unless you've got your job lined up beforehand, I would strongly suggest NOT moving here. SF has a very "backwards" and small-town approach to finding and hiring people for professional positions. At least in the IT field.

As for housing, SF as well as the surrounding towns are popping up quite quickly into suburbanite subdivision hellholes. In town there are still a couple nicely developed, varied neighborhoods, but most of the older ones are being overrun by white trash, immigrants, and what have you. There are some parts of town you don't want to visit after dark (well, it's not such a problem for some of us :P, but you get the idea).

Depending on how far you'd want to drive, there are several smaller towns come-subdivision that are popping up and growing. You can get some pretty inexpensive houses in Tea or Beresford, for instance (and in those general areas). They're like 20 minutes south. Brandon is about 10 minutes to the N and also growing. You'll drastically cut your daily commute if you both work and live near the SW side of town (which is the case for most people).

There's still a lot of farmland within 20 miles within SF. It's not all that difficult to find abandoned farmhouses fairly close (within the glow of the city lights), on back dirt roads. I guess it depends on how much land you want. Personally, I don't find SD land to be all that savory as an ownership proposition, except for maybe a shooting range. I'm an Northeastern boy at heart (grew up there), even if I hate the crowds. Still, living in town isn't pleasant, either. :P

If you do buy land out of town, plant many, many trees all over the property. It'll hide the eyesore that is the praire and shelter the house from prying eyes and the driving winds.