In real estate, value is often associated with what gets built. Increasingly, however, it is determined much earlier.
Across the United States, a persistent housing shortfall has exposed the constraints of the development pipeline, from land availability to the growing complexity of regulatory approvals. In this environment, attention is shifting upstream, towards the stages where projects are defined, permitted and made viable.
We spoke with Willem van Biezen, VP of Acquisitions at LandQuire, about the role of entitled land in today’s market, and how it fits within a broader investment strategy.
Why does the structural housing shortage make entitled land a compelling investment opportunity today?
The United States is facing a housing deficit that has been building for over a decade. Following the 2008 financial crisis, homebuilding activity collapsed and never fully recovered, leaving the country millions of homes short of what demographic demand requires.
This imbalance has been further exacerbated by rising construction costs, labour shortages, and higher mortgage rates, which have constrained both supply and mobility in the housing market.
In this context, land and more specifically entitled or near-entitlement land, occupies a uniquely strategic position. It is the one input that cannot be manufactured or substituted. Developers can source materials and capital, but without regulatory approval, no project can move forward.
This creates a form of structural scarcity that is largely independent from broader market cycles.
In addition, the entitlement process in the U.S. has become increasingly complex, often taking several years. For large homebuilders operating under capital constraints, this creates inefficiencies — and opens the door for specialised investors capable of managing this process and unlocking value upstream.
From our perspective, this dynamic reflects a long-term structural opportunity rather than a cyclical one.
How does the LandQuire investment approach work in practice, from sourcing to exit?
Land investing, when executed properly, is a highly operational discipline far removed from passive land speculation.
At LandQuire, the process begins with sourcing, driven by a combination of proprietary research, local broker networks, and direct engagement with landowners. We focus on high-growth regions where housing demand is structurally strong and where the entitlement process, while complex, remains navigable.
Once a site is identified, underwriting is centred on the regulatory pathway: zoning conditions, required approvals, infrastructure constraints, and municipal dynamics. We do not acquire land speculatively — we invest where there is a clear, well-defined path to entitlement.
During the holding period, our team actively manages the process: engaging with planning authorities, coordinating with engineers and legal advisors, and conducting the necessary technical and environmental studies.
This is where value is created, through execution.
On exit, we typically sell entitled or near-entitled land to developers seeking shovel-ready sites, allowing them to avoid the complexity and risk of the approval process. Our model is deliberately focused upstream: we do not build, lease, or take on construction risk.
Where are the main sources of value creation and risk control throughout the process?
Value creation in land investing occurs at two critical stages: acquisition and entitlement.
At acquisition, the key driver is information advantage. Land markets are often fragmented and inefficient, and a deep understanding of zoning frameworks and local development plans allows us to identify opportunities where regulatory potential is not yet reflected in pricing.
During the entitlement phase, value is created through execution managing timelines, controlling costs, and in some cases increasing the density or scope of development. Even a modest change in permitted use can significantly impact underlying asset value.
Risk management is embedded throughout the process.
At the portfolio level, geographic diversification reduces exposure to any single regulatory environment. At the asset level, capital deployment is staged, ensuring that significant investments are made only after key milestones are achieved.
The primary risk remains timeline risk, entitlement processes can be delayed due to political, legal, or technical factors. Managing this requires conservative assumptions, strong local relationships, and disciplined capital allocation.
How can land investing fit within a European family office’s broader allocation?
For European family offices, U.S. land investing offers a differentiated return profile within a broader real assets or private markets allocation.
Unlike traditional real estate strategies, returns are not driven by rental income or occupancy rates, but by regulatory value creation. This makes the asset class less directly exposed to interest rate movements and more complementary to core or value-add real estate investments.
The investment horizon, typically two to four years, also aligns well with private market allocations, offering relatively predictable capital recycling through a single exit event.
From a market perspective, the U.S. offers a scale and depth that is difficult to replicate in Europe. While the housing shortage is a national issue, it manifests across multiple high-growth regions, allowing for diversified portfolio construction.
Finally, U.S. dollar-denominated real assets can provide an additional layer of diversification for euro-based investors, particularly in a context of structural housing undersupply.