HOW MUCH IS MY LAND WORTH

That can be a tough question. Even the experts that value land every day sometimes have trouble. When you hear that some land nearby sold for a high price, you may conclude that your land is worth more. That may or may not be so.  Many factors contribute to why land has value.  First consider the land itself. Some land has road frontage and great location, and some does not. Some land is low and stays wet a lot of the time and some does not. Some land has a valuable crop growing (such as timber) and some does not. So right a way you can see that 2 properties a block away could have different values.  Now consider whether the land is being utilized for its most useful purpose. How many times have you seen a big city grow into the surrounding farmland? A huge shopping center sits on one corner and cotton field across the street. In this case the cotton field land is not used to its highest and better use. This land would certainly go up in value. Let’s consider supply and demand. Economic conditions affect this also. If you have more real estate for sale and less buyers, then the value of land goes down.  If you have less land for sale and a

Raking Hay in Southwest Arkansas
Raking Hay in Southwest Arkansas

lot of buyers, then land goes up. News of upcoming events can change the value of land. A new factory coming in could drive prices up merely on speculation of supply and demand. A new interstate highway planned to come through could raise land prices. You can see how complex this can be. Books have been written on this subject and we can’t begin to cover everything here. Remember, the probable price may not always be the average or highest price.