OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The World Equestrian Center has made the surrounding area of Marion and Levy counties a global destination, as many of the world’s elite equestrians have relocated to the area after purchasing property, or are competing routinely at the facility on an annual basis.
However, in 2025 prices did decline for vacant, agriculturally zoned land 10 acres and larger in close proximity to the facility, according to SVN McDonald & Company.
The 2025 WEC Effect reveals another year of changing land valuations across three distance segments for vacant, agriculturally zoned land sections 10 acres and larger, following a market peak in 2024. These segments are measured by their distance from the Grand Outdoor Arena at the World Equestrian Center: 0-6 miles, 6-9 miles and 9-18 miles, respectively. The ‘0-6 Miles’ segment led the decline with a -32.44 percent year-over-year change from $67,384 to $45,524/acre. The ‘6-9 Miles’ segment declined -6.71 percent from $43,181 to $40,283/acre, and the ‘9-18 Miles’ segment experienced the smallest percentage decline of -1.85 percent from $24,355 to $23,905/acre, according to SVN McDonald & Company, a commercial real estate brokerage based in Ocala.
One vacant 10-acre tract near WEC sold for $150,000 per acre in 2025, significantly higher than any comparable sale. In some cases, significant outliers were removed to ensure statistical averages accurately reflect normal market conditions in the area, according to the SVN McDonald & Company analysis. Vacant land can fluctuate in value even compared to a neighboring tract, and there are many important factors that can be attributed to the price per acre amount for a property.
However, that decline may only be temporary, said Bartow McDonald, SVN McDonald & Company’s managing director.
“After a period of rapid price increases, vacant land values cooled a bit in 2025, perhaps indicating a hot market needing to catch its breath,” said McDonald in a press release.