Real Estate Prices Still
Agricultural Economist Newsletter: Winter 2001--Farm Real Estate Prices Still Rising in Minnesota Farm Real Estate Prices Still Rising in Minnesota Steven J. Taff Average Minnesota farm real estate sales prices just keep on climbing (figure 1). This despite low output prices, rising input costs, and continued uncertainty about the future of federal subsidies. Sales price increases were seen in all parts of the state except in the northwest. In this annual sales price summary, I can provide only an overview, some cursory analysis, and--as always--a few opinions. I'll not bore you with text that simply repeats what's already shown in the charts. Instead I'll spend some time discussing how land transaction data are recorded, adjusted, and employed. I think it's useful to go through some administrative and procedural details to further our understanding of what these data are and what they are not. If this prospect makes you say, "Just show me the data, Steve," then you can stop right after the sales summary section. Or, if your impatience knows no bounds, go straight to the Minnesota Land Economics (MLE) Web site at http://apec.umn.edu/faculty/sjtaff/landdata/index.html and start working the numbers yourself. Farm Land Sales in 2000 Assessors are required to report initial assessments in late fall, based on sales data to date. That's why the data are reported on a "record year" basis: these are the sales that were, presumably, available for assessor scrutiny at the time the initial estimated market-values are calculated. Final values are set by summer, to be used in the succeeding tax year. So, for example, sales made in late 1999 are used by assessors to set initial values for January 2001. These estimates are adjusted in spring 2001, finalized in summer 2001, and then used for tax purposes in 2002. The adjusted record year 2000 sales data were therefore not available until April of this year. Figure 2 shows the distribution of all farmland sales in 2000. The bulk of the sales lie between $500 and $2,000 per acre. I excluded a small number of sales that exceeded $5,000 per acre as well as those involving parcels of land less than 20 acres in size. Both were excluded as not being plausibly "agricultural"--despite their designation on the Certificate of Real Estate Value (CRV) as "agricultural" land. (Although excluded from figure 2, these data are included in the MLE Web site data.) Even though MAE readers and MLE Web site users can view the full distribution of sales prices, most still ask for a single number that somehow captures the story behind the figures. Obviously, for a set of sales that span such a wide range in prices, any single number fails completely to accomplish this end. Movements in averages, while arithmetically correct, usually fail to tell the entire story. The particular average I use in this article is a location- and size-weighted mean (table 1). In last year's farm real estate report ( agecon.lib.umn.edu/mn/mae699.pdf ), I discussed the usefulness of such weighting as well as the desirability of examining sales data at the smallest geographic scale possible. Table 1. Minnesota farm real estate sales summary Record year Number of sales Acres sold Average price* 1996 2,504 263,728 936 1997 2,641 296,803 1,039 1998 2,724 303,968 1,113 1999 2,212 235,359 1,196 2000 2,258 250,979 1,222 * Location- and size-weighted per-acre mean Figure 1 compares the movements of actual sales price averages with those two other estimates of land value--the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) annual state estimates (based on a farmer opinion survey) and the average assessor estimates (the location- and size-weighted mean estimated market value). The University of Minnesota sales prices averages are location- and size-weighted means. The fact that all three (somewhat) independent estimates of farmland real estate values shown in figure 1 move in lockstep adds credence, I believe, to the conclusion that, on average, farmland values really are increasing in Minnesota. Geographic variations in real estate values for the past 11 years are shown in the box-and-whisker plots of figure 3. (District boundaries are shown in figure 4.) The range of sales prices for each district for each year is shown by the endpoints of the vertical lines. The ends of each box show the prices at which 25 percent of the sales were higher (or lower). The median is indicated by the horizontal bar within each box. So, for example, the median Central district farmland sale was about $1,200 per acre, with 25 percent of the sales lower than $750 and 75 percent lower than $1,850 per acre. In previous years' reports, I've noted the wide variation in average price movements among districts. Such differences were accentuated in 2000 by the continued climb of values in the South East district combined with the continued stagnation in the North West district (figure 5) . Farm Sale Data When a Minnesota property is sold, the transaction details must be recorded at the county courthouse on a form called a CRV. On it, the seller attests that such-and-such a property was sold to so-and-so on a certain date for a specific price. Other information about the property (its size, soil characteristics, prior year's estimated market value) is often entered on the CRV as well. Frequently, the per-acre prices that underlie this article and are also shown in the MLE Web site are not the prices entered on the CRV. Long before a land sales figure enters the official data base, it has been passed through an array of filters and adjustments designed to make comparison among transactions more meaningful and more reliable. Recording the Transactions There are many possible slips between an ownership change and data analysis. Of course, there is always the chance that simple recording errors are made. For example, numbers may be miscopied from bills of sale onto the CRV, or into a computer file, or into a spreadsheet. There is also a chance of misrepresentation. The person who fills in the CRV might have a reason to understate or overstate the actual sales price--perhaps to avoid a tax. This, of course, is illegal, but, as any courthouse veteran can tell you, it occasionally happens. Not every sale receives further processing. Local or state officials remove from subsequent analysis any sale not deemed "arms-length," because it was sold, for example, to a member of the seller's immediate family. Or, a sale might be pulled because the new buyer intends to convert the land to a non-agricultural use. Adjusting the Prices After this filtering, sales prices are frequently adjusted to make comparison among sales more appropriate. First, to expunge the effects of inflation, sales prices are deflated by an officially reported rate to January 2 of the year in which they were recorded. This "adjustment for time" is fairly minor in years (like the past decade) where inflation has been low. The second adjustment is "for terms." Not all farm real estate sales are for the full property. Some are made through a contract for deed, an arrangement that allows the buyer to pay a certain amount now and other amounts at stated intervals. Until the final payment is made, the property remains in the possession of the seller--even though it has been "sold." Because the full payment schedule is entered on the CRV, the Department of Revenue can calculate a present value of the initial and subsequent payments at an official discount rate. This becomes the official sales price of the property, regardless of what the buyer and seller had in mind when they sealed the deal. Adjustments don't end with a time- and terms-adjusted sales price, honestly reported and accurately recorded. In most cases, users of the data are interested in per-acre prices, not per-parcel prices. That means some chosen total price must be divided by some total acreage. But which price? Which acres? Should we use the total price or should we first subtract out the value of buildings, personal property, ancillary property, or machinery to get closer to the "true" land price? In this article (and on the MLE Web site), I choose to follow conventions established years ago in Minnesota. I report the time- and terms-adjusted total sales price, minus the value of personal property, divided by the entire acreage of the parcel. That's why, when I'm being careful, I speak of the average price of farm real estate, not of farm land . Employing the Data The sales reported here are only those recorded between October 1, 1999, and September 30, 2000. These "record year 2000" sales are so bundled because of the way real estate transactions are used to help local assessors value land for property tax purposes. Strange as it may seem, the Department of Revenue does not collect sales data merely to satisfy the data cravings of University economists like me. No, statewide sales data are collected principally to create statistics that are used to "equalize" property tax valuations across county boundaries. Each year, county assessors are required to assign an estimated market value (EMV) to each of the thousands of real estate parcels in the county. The estimate is supposed to be based on an examination of similar properties that were actually sold recently. (The combined valuations for each township, city, or county are the source of the Land Values--in contrast to the Farmland Sales--data on the MLE Web site.) Because every county has its own assessor who uses largely independent valuation procedures, there are inevitably discontinuities across county lines--even for adjacent properties. Farmer Brown wonders why Farmer Olson's land, just across the fence line in the next county, carries an assessed value that is lower by $200 per acre. The state has created an equalization procedure that is supposed to smooth over such discontinuities. Assuming that nearby properties really would sell for similar prices, any observed difference in assessed values for otherwise similar properties is presumed to be evidence that one or both of the assessors is either undervaluing (that is, assigning an EMV that is too low) or overvaluing properties. To test this, the state calculates a sales ratio (the EMV divided by sales price) for every property sold in a particular area. If an assessor systematically undervalues properties (shown by sales ratios that are consistently lower than some threshold), the state might demand the EMVs in that jurisdiction be uniformly raised, to better accord with what is thought to be "true" market conditions. How Accurate Are the EMVs? We can see for ourselves how close the final assessor estimates are by comparing actual sales prices against the previous year's estimated market values for the same property (figure 2). Each point in the figure represents one sale. For example, the rightmost point is for a property that was estimated to have a value of $4,900 per acre, but actually sold for only $2,900 per acre. While some of the estimates are obviously way off (like this example), the bulk are pretty close. In most cases, the EMV was lower than the sale price, but in a neatly predictable manner. A simple one-variable regression model, shown as the straight line in the figure, accounts for nearly 75 percent of the observed variation in farm real estate sales prices. Parting Thoughts What accounts for the ever-onward-and-upward movement of average farm real estate prices in Minnesota? We need only to round up the usual suspects, most of which I have discussed at length in previous issues of MAE . These include 1) perennial farmer optimism about future crop and livestock prices, 2) expected extensions of federal farm subsidy programs, 3) continued favorable local property tax treatment for farmland, 4) the desire of some farmers to increase the size of their current operation by buying adjacent farmland, 5) the desire of some non-farm buyers to use land as a hedge against inflation, and 6) inflation itself. An additional suspect that we need to add is the increasing prominence of location even in rural land markets. We simply can't explain current price levels on the basis of income potential (including subsidies) and speculation potential alone. Clearly, where the land sits with respect to job centers and what it looks like is influencing the price buyers are willing to pay for a particular parcel of land. As always, I caution potential land buyers and sellers about reading too much into the average land prices reported here and elsewhere. If you've got land to sell or if you have a hankering to buy land--look before you leap. The financial stakes are too high for casual empiricism. Hire an appraiser. Talk with your spouse. Check your finances. Think about the children. Be careful out there! Steven J. Taff is an associate professor and extension economist with the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota. Return to Minnesota Ag Economist Newsletter Index Page University of Minnesota Extension Service HomePage
Florida Real Estate Welcome
Destin Florida Real Estate Destin Florida Real Estate Listings Buyers Sellers Resources Home | Contact $1,195,000 Property Types Condos Homes Land Townhomes Commercial Fractional Desired Features Golf Course Waterfront Fenced Yard Pool Gated All Price & Area $min 50k 100k 150k 200k 250k 300k 350k 400k 450k 500k 550k 600k 700k 800k 900k 1.0m 2.0m 3.0m 4.0m 5.0m No Min ¯ $max 50k 100k 150k 200k 250k 300k 350k 400k 450k 500k 550k 600k 700k 800k 900k 1.0m 2.0m 3.0m 4.0m 5.0m No Max Select Region (All) Miramar Beach / Sandestin Fort Walton Beach Santa Rosa Beach Destin Mary Esther Seacrest Beach Panama City Beach Rosemary Beach Point Washington Receive Weekly Updates On every new home and condo listing on the Emerald Coast. All new listings every week! Receive Weekly Updates Name: Email: Main Links Home Listings Home Search Featured Listings Buyers Sellers About Destin Florida Destin Florida Homes Destin Florida Condos Contact Local Areas South Walton Fort Walton Beach Miramar Beach Santa Rosa Beach Blue Mountain Beach Grayton Beach Sandestin Seagrove Seaside Watercolor Okaloosa Island Dune Allen Beach WaterSound Beach Inlet Beach Destin Florida Real Estate Welcome to Destin Florida Real Estate sponsored by Ed Kirkland & Associates the #1 real estate agents in Destin florida. We have designed this website to make it easy for you to access all Destin Florida real estate available in the Destin MLS and surrounding areas. To start your home search just click on a price range below or visit our Destin Florida MLS Listings section Homes by Price Range Search by Property Type $300,00 - $ 500,000 Single Family Homes $ 500,000 - $ 600,000 Condominiums $ 600,000 - $ 800,000 Townhomes $ 800,000 - $ 1,000,000 Vacant Land $ 1,000,000 - $ 2,000,000 Fractional Ownership $ 2,000,000 & Up Commercial Are you looking to buy a home or second home in Destin Florida? Our team of real estate experts know the Destin home market like the back of our hand and we are here to help guide you through the selection, and purchasing process so that you can be laying on the beach enjoying your new Destin home before you know it.Call the Destin Real Estate Team now! Toll free 1- 800-227-8654 top Listings Home Search Buyers Sellers Resources Real Estate Web Design: RealEstateWebmasters © 2004-2005 Destin Florida Real Estate REMAX Coastal Propeties: Ed Kirkland Broker/Owner,CRS/ABR/E-PRO
Home For Sale
Homes For Sale By Owner - Real Estate - Free Listings - FSBO Houses Switch To International My Menu Buy or Rent | Sell or Lease Sign in Register Services Moving Financing Find An Agent News Realty Times News Market Conditions Latest Listings Buy or Rent Sell or Lease Home Services News Help About Site map Register Find houses for sale by owner or Realtors ®, apartments, homes for sale, rentals, FSBO, vacation properties, international real estate, mobile homes, vacant land, timeshares, condos, and more. List your property for FREE , search the best mortgage rates and the latest real estate news. Home selling made easy! Find A Home (US - Canada) Find International By State & City By Zip By MLS and ID Advanced Find Select Home Type --- Residential Styles --- Single Family Home Condominium Townhouse or Villa Duplex/Triplex Mobile Home Farm/Ranch Lot/Vacant Land Timeshare Co-op Apartment Vacation property --- Commercial --- Automobile Service Business/Office Chemical Church Contractors Yard Free Standing Heavy Machinery Hotel Light Manufacturing Motel Office Building Office Rental/Office Retail Shopping Center Store/Warehouse Land Warehouse Office Other To Buy or Rent Buy Rent Rent To Own In All States/Provinces --- United States ---- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming American Samoa Guam Puerto Rico Virgin Islands --- Canada --- Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland NWT Nova Scotia Nunavut Ontario PEI Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon City Price All $200 - $10,000 $10,000-$30,000 $30,000-$50,000 $50,000-$150,000 $150,000-$500,000 $500,000-$1,000,000 $1,000,000-$1,500,000 $2,000,000-$3,000,000 $3,000,000 + Sponsors & Partners Free Classifieds Simple and effective online advertising New York City Apartments - Mark David Real Estate can help simplify your search for an apartment or real estate in New York City. Featured Homes Hallandale Beach, Florida USA $465,000 Sponsored Links Homes For Sale | TOU | Privacy Link to Us
Buy Home
Mortgage Rates, Home Loans, Home Equity Loans, Debt Consolidation and Bad Credit Loans - HomeLoanCenter.com Mortgage Refinance Home Equity Loans Home Purchase Credit Concerns Debt Consolidation Check Loan Status Loan Calculators Rate Quote Rate Watch FAQs Find the Right Loan 5 Reasons to Refinance Home Buying Tips Mortgage Terms Glossary Get Loan Approval in Minutes. Qualifying is Quick & Easy. -- Choose Your Loan Type -- Refinance Purchase Home Equity Loan -- Choose Your State -- AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ NM NV NY OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN TX UT VA VT WA WI WV WY Our Mortgage Calculators will help you find the right loan. How Much Can You Afford? How Much Equity is in Your Home? How Much Could You Save? What Will Your Monthly Payment Be? Hsieh Joins Expert Panel on CNBC Anthony Hsieh appears on a special edition of CNBC Primetime with a panel of residential real estate industry experts. Anthony Hsieh, on CNN's Open House Hsieh appeared as a guest speaker on CNN's Open House to discuss good housing debt versus bad housing debt. Click below for a Personalized Payment and Rate. Option ARM 1.000% 1.106% 1 Month ARM 2.000% 2.116% 3/1 Libor ARM 5.000% 5.149% 15 Year Fixed 5.125% 5.384% 30 Year Fixed 5.625% 5.782% 30 Yr Fixed Jumbo 6.125% 6.289% Assumptions Site Map | About Us | Contact Us | Business Hours | Careers | Privacy Policy | Our Guarantees | Licensing | Legal Information Loan Payment Calculator | Mortgage Refinance | Home Equity Loan | Home Purchase | Adjustable Rate Mortgages | Second Mortgage Tools & Resources | Mortgage Interest Rates | Home Loan | Equity Loan | Debt Consolidation © 2005 Home Loan Center, Inc. All rights reserved. Loan programs are offered by Home Loan Center, Inc.
Selling Home
Preparing Your Sellers for Home Showings - Real Estate Agent Tips You are here: About > Home & Garden > Home Buying / Selling > Real Estate Careers > Presentation Skills > Listings > Preparing Your Sellers for Home Showings - Real Estate Agent Tips Home & Garden Home Buying / Selling Essentials 10 Things Home Buyers Shouldn't Do Best Tips for First Time Home Buyers "Must-Do" Tasks Before You Sell How to Buy a Home, Step by Step For Sale by Owner Advice Articles & Resources How To Buy a Home How To Sell a House Celebrity & Historic Credit Reports & Scores Design & Remodel Home Maintenance Inspections & Appraisals Investing & Foreclosures Modular & Manufactured Mold, Radon, Lead, etc. Mortgage Advice Moving & Relocation Real Estate Careers Real Estate For Sale Vacation Homes Buyer's Guide Before You Buy Top Picks Home Buying Books Foreclosure Books Mortgage Books Product Reviews Forums Help FREE Newsletter Sign Up Now for the Home Buying / Selling newsletter! See Online Courses Search Home Buying / Selling Stay up to date! Email to a friend Print this page Suggested Reading Interviewing for a Real Estate Position How To Calculate Real Estate Commissions Getting the House House Ready for Showings Suggested Reading Real Estate Appraisal Methods Fair Housing Issues for Real Estate Pros How To Measure a Home's Square Footage Recent Discussions Excellent credit, no savings- help!! Buying an out of state home ? Re-financing... Related Blogs Mortgage Fraud Blog The Real Estate Blog The Money Pit Most Popular Modular and Manufactured Homes Finding Your Best Place to ... Home Buying Don'ts First Time Home Buyer Tips Before You Sell Your Home What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews Related Topics Home Repair Architecture Credit / Debt Management Housekeeping Landscaping Preparing Your Sellers for Home Showings From Janet Wickell , Your Guide to Home Buying / Selling . FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! Introduce sellers to the realities of showing their home You've already talked with your sellers about the physical work involved to get a home ready to show, but have you mentioned other events that may take place while the house is on the market? Giving home sellers a basic education in Buyers 101 will help prepare them for the realities of showing their house.
Be Ready to Show at All Times
Sellers should be aware that same-day and even last-minute requests for showings are common, so a seller with a '24 hour notice to show' stipulation often cuts himself out of a good chunk of the buying market. The only standard hefty lag time that should be necessary is when you must give ample notice to a tenant.
Once a house gets tagged difficult to show by agents, you won't receive as many calls to show it. If sellers choose to make showings difficult, be sure to tell them now that it will cut down on showings--and fewer showings equals fewer potential buyers.
Keep it Flexible
Explain to your home sellers that most agents do try to arrive within the scheduled showing time, but sometimes it isn't possible. They may get stuck in traffic, or the house they saw prior to your showing took longer than expected. It happens, and sometimes it happens too late to be fixed by a phone call.
Encourage sellers to stay away from home a little longer than they think is necessary, just to make sure they don't interrupt a showing.
Sellers Who Want to Be Present
This is nearly always a bad idea. Sellers think agents and buyers won't be able to find everything, that they must be there to point out important features. Truthfully, most just want to be present to see buyer reaction firsthand.
Sellers should be aware that at the very least buyers feel uncomfortable when they are present, and that it can actually kill a sale. Buyers often won't even open closet or cabinet doors when the seller is home, and when they cannot view a house comfortably, they'll hurry up and move on to the next one.
Sellers want to talk, and not just about the house. You never know when a buyer will be turned off by the mood of the seller, or by a statement the seller makes. Buyers are there to look at the house, not chit chat about hobbies or the weather or worse--politics and other controversial topics.
If sellers must be home during a showing, counsel them to go outside or stay put in one location, not wander around with the agent and buyers.
Sellers Who Want YOU To Be Present for All Showings
If you're selling a large estate or complicated property, it might be the norm to plan on being present for all showings, but it's not necessary or smart for the typical house.
Explain that other agents generally feel uncomfortable with the selling agent hanging around, listening to and participating in conversations with potential buyers. If the other agent is representing the buyers as a buyer's agent, she won't be free to have open discussions about the house in front of you.
There's another negative that may be more important: busy agents don't have time to work around your schedule. Requiring the listing agent to be present for all showings is another way to give the house that difficult to show reputation.
If your sellers are worried about theft of small items, they should store them away . Packing up collections and small personal items is part of the process they should have already gone through to prepare the house for showings .
Pets Must Be Controlled
Pets should be out of the house during showings, especially large dogs, since many people are afraid of them. A gruff bark coming from inside the house is enough to make some home buyers turn around at the front door.
If there are pet odors, talking with your seller about the subject can be tricky, because most people are not aware of odors in their own home. You may need to conjure up your best be-tactful mode to deal with that subject, but it must be dealt with. Your sellers don't want buyers to remember the home as the house that smells .
Gaining Seller Cooperation
Share showing information in a 'did you know this about buyers' tone, rather than simply telling a seller what he must do. Explaining why these steps are important helps sellers realize that it's in their best interests to comply.
Consider putting showing advice on paper in an easy-to-read format. Give the seller a day or so to digest the information, then ask if he has any questions about the information.
Show that you respect the seller's opinions by asking what he thinks are the home's best features, then spotlight those features in a flyer or brochure that can be left on a table for prospective buyers.
Sellers usually just want to help. It's up to you to figure out a way to give them a role in the sales process, one that is truly helpful and that won't have a negative impact on showings. Important disclaimer information about this About site. Topic Index | Email to a Friend Our Story | Be a Guide | Advertising Info | Work at About | Site Map | Icons | Help User Agreement | Ethics Policy | Patent Info. | Privacy Policy | Kids' Privacy Policy ©2005 About, Inc., A part of the New York Times Company . All rights reserved. Around About Oprah's Life Vacation Ideas Shop Safely Online VIDEO: Craft Rooms VIDEO: Christmas Traditions What's Hot Coping with Unethical People How To Buy Land Real Estate Appraisal Before You Buy a Log Home Package Home Buying / Selling - GuideReviews