What is really insane is there are some hunters that will pay that price for the lease. That is crazy! With leased property that high per acre, I think you could buy as cheap as you can lease in the long run.
Sure about that?
1000 acres leased at $12.50 = $12,500.00 per year.
1000 acres bought at $2000/acre = $2,000,000.00 purchase price or about $12,000.00 PER MONTH for 30 YEARS. Oh, and you would need to put down about $300,000.00 to get the mortgage.
So, you could lease for 10 years and still not have paid 50% of what your down payment requirement would have been to purchase the property.
I'm not saying owning is bad. I own several hundred acres in TN and AL, but if the ONLY thing you are interested in is hunting rights, leasing is not a bad way to go. Even at $12.50 an acre, or more.
The only reason lease rates are as high as they are is because that is what people will pay. Supply and demand. And when you look at the difference in capital required to lease versus buying, it is a hell of a deal.