Carter Closes About $27M in Six Land Deals

ORLANDO-Sellers remain hard traders, choice tracts are dwindling but a growing number of land deals in Central Florida are in the pipeline as investors and lenders aggressively scout for new ventures here, Darryl M. Carter, president, Maury L. Carter & Associates Inc., Orlando, tells GlobeSt.com.

Carter’s 35-year-old firm, one of the oldest and largest land brokerages in Florida, participated in the sale of 1,052 acres valued at $27.1 million in six Central Florida counties over the last 30 to 45 days. “Sellers are still doggone independent,” Carter tells GlobeSt.com. “They are driving the train right now.” Still, Maury L. Carter & Associates remains the market share leader among Central Florida land brokerages with their strategic acquisition concept.

“We tell sellers who hold out for higher prices, ‘We will trade cash quick against price.’ ” Carter says. “ That means we have cash in hand to give them if they will agree to negotiate on price. We’ve been very successful with that policy.”