People who only want land for it use, for example -
homesteaders, are bidding against the speculators.
That could be the case in collar counties near city jobs. I have not yet
seen speculation in seriously rural homestead property. Security,
maintenance, rental issues make homestead-type property unattractive to
investors. The speculator who buys very rural property and rents it out may
find himself soon dealing with the law and then cleaning up a meth lab
mess. City properties are much easier to manage and have much more
predictable appreciation.
The only constant is change. Rural land conditions will change. Buy
homestead land now.