Real estate heirs list one of America’s largest ranches for $142 million after patriarch’s death

The family behind homebuilding titan DR Horton is putting one of America’s largest ranches on the market for a staggering $142 million.

The Great Western Ranch, a colossal 500,000-acre tract in New Mexico, is now up for grabs, offering more space than the entire city of Houston, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The move comes just months after the death of DR Hortons founder Donald Ray Horton and signals the family’s willingness to part with their rural empire. The farm is near Quemado, close to the Arizona border – approximately 150 miles west of Albuquerque.

This large property is not just a random plot of land, it is a stronghold of cowboy heritage and prime real estate.

The Hortons, known for their massive homebuilding empire, consolidated the farm by acquiring three adjacent properties over the past decade.

The first portion alone, 293,000 acres, set them back $59 million in 2014.

It is an operating cattle farm with approximately 1,900 cow-calf pairs roaming the land. A buyer can even get around 900 cows as part of the deal.

The Great Western is also a treasure trove of history and natural beauty.

There are Native American archaeological sites scattered throughout the ranch, including ancient stone dwellings, petroglyphs and countless pieces of pottery, Jeff Buerger of Hall and Hall, the listing agent, told the Journal. (As it stands, the offering is located near the Navajo Nation, as well as the famous Acoma Pueblo.)

And when the sun goes down, the night sky is nothing short of a heavenly spectacle. You feel like you’re on another planet when you look at the stars,” Buerger told the media.

The property also comes loaded with eight houses, including a guest lodge and farm manager’s house, plus all the fixings you need for serious farm wells, barns, corrals and even a tackle shop.

The farm is also a hunting paradise, leased to Black Mountain Outfitters for trophy hunting.

Living at Great Western Ranch is like entering another world, according to Jason Saulan, who oversees the Horton family ranch portfolio.

I don’t know what the opposite of claustrophobia is, but that’s the feeling you get, Saulan told the media, recalling his time living on the property. We lived on top of a hill and could see 28 miles to St. John, Ariz.

DR Horton has been America’s largest homebuilder by sales volume since 2002, and the Horton legacy is deeply rooted in the South. Founded in 1978 by Donald Ray Horton, the company has built homes for millions, but their heart was also clearly in the wide open spaces of the American West.

With its combination of large-scale beef production and trophy hunting, Buerger says, the Horton family ranch in New Mexico is rare.

Last year, a smaller ranch in New Mexico covering 16,700 acres sold for $44 million. But with this deal, the Horton family aims to set a new high in the farm game.

And while 500,000 acres is a massive amount of land, the title for the largest ranch in the United States goes to the King Ranch in South Texas, which spans 825,000 acres.