While considering a land investment, one needs to find a land property that is in an area featuring future market drivers. Most cities have locations that have scheduled infrastructure projects for future development.

Other market drivers such as educational institutions, shopping centres, business complexes or hotels also add value.

Buying land in upcoming areas is the best bet when it comes to potentially lucrative land investment.

If the location happens to be a good source of skilled manpower, or if it is a suitable retail customer catchment, such land can then be sold at a profit to developers seeking to launch retail or manufacturing units.

Therefore, it makes sense to make ones land investment in a growth sector. If sufficient market drivers exist, such land will find demand from developers who intent to launch residential, retail, office or hotel projects in the area.

When such an area features sufficient market drivers, the value of land property will increase manifold.

Once one finds a suitable piece of land, the next step is establishing whether it is for sale and whether it has clear legal status. It is not uncommon for land property to be under litigation. It may also have been earmarked for a local Government project, or lie within a restricted zone that does not permit development. If such circumstances exist, there is no investment potential in buying this land.

Other factors to consider while purchasing a plot of land is the total purchase cost, whether the size of the plot is sufficient for retail, commercial or retail ventures and whether enough transport infrastructure exists to support future demand. Research and timing are very important, because land property rates sink if too many land owners who have been sitting on land banks for future development release their holdings to the market.