Sept. 30, 2025 (PARIS, Texas) – A Northeast Texas real estate brokerage earlier this month closed the most lucrative sale in the company’s nearly 15-year history. And it turns out the transaction underscores something else significant — rapid population growth and rising land values in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
In an off-market (private seller) commercial land sale, United Country Real Estate | AltaTerra Realty and Auction, LLC’s agents negotiated a deal that saw the Anna, Texas, Independent School District acquire 192± acres in Collin County. The property had been owned by a local ranch family for more than 80 years. The Anna ISD purchased the land for roughly $40 million.
Leading up to the sale, AltaTerra REALTORS® Kristen Ross and Kim Ross were working on a $4.5 million ranch listing in Northeast Texas. REALTOR® James Ross, a commercial investment specialist, brought in a prospective buyer for the ranch. The purchase depended on the buyer selling another property — in this case, the 192 acres in Anna.
“The Anna ISD acquired the site as part of its $40 million school bond initiative, and the land will support future schools and facilities needed to serve one of the fastest-growing districts in the state,” said AltaTerra broker-owner J.W. Ross.
Ross said Collin County has become part of an “explosive growth corridor” north of Dallas and has benefitted from its proximity to U.S. Highway 75, State Highway 121 and the county’s planned Outer Loop, a major regional roadway designed to relieve traffic and connect emerging communities. A lot of the growth is driven by major technology and infrastructure investments, he said.
Record-breaking population growth in the area has led to expanded utilities, more demand for housing, schools and commercial businesses. The result? Land prices are at a premium.
Paris, Texas-based AltaTerra is one of nearly 500 offices in the now 100-year-old United Country Real Estate franchise network. Licensed in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Colorado, AltaTerra helps clients buy and sell country homes, farms and ranches, hunting and recreational properties, development land and other lifestyle and rural real estate. The brokerage regularly sells large tracts of land, sometimes thousands of acres, but to date, never at as lofty of a sale price as seen with the 192 acres in Anna.
“In terms of property size, this was a smaller tract (for us), but with the growth corridor running right through the DFW Metroplex, the dollar amount of this transaction was significant and ranks as the highest for a single transaction to date,” Ross said.
But even with the benefit of high-demand, the sale had its fair share of challenges before all was said and done. Ross pointed to a variety of tricky legal and technical matters, including making sure the ISD met the utility capacity and zoning requirements, and working with the seller to facilitate a 1033 Tax Exchange with the property being purchased as eminent domain for government use.
“The primary challenge was navigating the complexity of a public-school bond purchase,” he said. “Coordinating timing, due diligence and valuation between a private seller and a public entity requires patience and expertise. Beyond simply brokering the transaction, we worked in tandem with all parties’ legal representatives to ensure a smooth process.”
In the next 25 years, Collin County is projected to have the kind of flourishing economy that rivals that of certain entire states at present. AltaTerra Realty and Auction will no doubt be prepared to handle that growth.
“The (Anna ISD) sale highlights the depth of service and expertise our brokerage provides,” Ross said. “It’s a holistic approach that demonstrates the full spectrum of value we deliver. We don’t just complete the transaction. We ensure our clients maximize both immediate and long-term benefits from the sale.”