Buy Tejon Ranch (TRC)

Raw land, despite the 2007 meltdown in the housing market, is a great way to profit from inflation. As they say, God isn’t making any more land so the world has got a limited supply and increasing demand. That’s even more true if we’re talking about land within commuting distance of Los Angeles. Tejon Ranch owns about 270,000 acres 60 miles north of Los Angeles and within spitting distance of Interstate 5. With recent share prices at around $40, that means you can pick up an acre of land for $6,000 or so. In May 2008 the company announced an agreement with environmental groups to conserve 240,000 acres of land and to proceed with development on the remaining 30,000 acres.