When evaluating land for sale, you need to look beyond physical features. The team at Whitetail Properties list the three considerations hunting and farmland buyers and sellers should think about when investigating land for sale.

1. Sporting Quality

Properties that seem similarly situated can be vastly different. Some factors that impact sporting quality:

Variety, quantity and quality of wildlife species

Quality of habitat: land and water

Control and access

Availability of tags

Adjacency to public land

2. Income Production

For years the focus on properties has been on the recreational component with little focus of the income potential. With the global demand for food products and rising commodity prices there has been a real increased demand and focus on income-producing properties. While the traditional buyers are out there, much of this demand is coming from sophisticated investors who seek not only land appreciation with the safety in investing in real property, but also the rising income generated from crop production sales.

3. Conservation Values

Properties for sale with strong conservation values can certainly enhance the value of a farm. Protected natural amenities such as pristine scenery and wildlife help sustain property values and attract new investments. Landowners frequently take advantage of the inherent conservation values through conservation easements. A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement where a landowner permanently restricts uses on the land in order to protect certain conservation values. Easements may provide a number of financial advantages for landowners including:

Federal income tax breaks for a donation

Real estate ad valorem tax breaks

Estate planning and family heritage preservation

Land value enhancements due to adjacency to protected land

Properties with high sporting quality, income production capability and strong conservation values will greatly enhance the value of any hunting or farmland tract. As a land buyer or seller definitely make sure to add these three attributes to your checklist when performing your property evaluation. Our Land Specialist can draw from their own experience as big-game hunters, outfitters and guides, wildlife biologists, and farmland specialists in assisting buyers and sellers in evaluating a property and its attributes.