For Sale: Montana’s Sun Ranch

The jury is still out on my definition of dream property, but I’ll tell you this: Montana’s Sun Ranch is definitely in the running.

Nestled on 18,000 acres just outside of Yellowstone National Park in the Madison Valley, the Sun Ranch ranges from 5,700 feet to over 10,000 and is a sterling example of what a true steward of the land can do with a spectacular piece of property. Almost 100 percent of the ranch is protected by conservation easements.

Three creeks – Sun, Moose, and Wolf – nurture more than a mile of the Madison River, which weaves its way through the property. Needless to say the fishing is out of this world. Elk, deer, bear, antelope, and sheep cross this country going to and from Yellowstone. Throw in a beautiful main residence, and this prime parcel is for sale at $55 million. Fay Ranches has the listing.

According to New West,the owner, Roger Lang, is looking to unload the ranch and free up capital for other conservation projects. According to the article, it looks like he has in mind a development similar to what Russ Maytag has done in Colorado at Maytag Mountain Ranch.

Sold! “Nicest Lakefront Property in East Tennessee”

Update: According to Chip Miller of NAI Knoxville, the Fort Loudon Lake property sold Saturday morning for $26.5 million to Bryan Testerman of Testerman Construction. That’s $54,000 per acre. Additional details to follow.

Original Post: Nearly 500 acres just outside Knoxville on Tennessee’s Fort Loudon Lake is up for absolute auction this weekend. As long as someone shows up with the $100,000 cashiers check required to bid, there will be a new owner for what tax rolls call the Al Kraemer Farm.

This pristine piece of farmland sits on a peninsula overlooking the popular lake, which sees an estimated two million visitors per year. There are three buildings on the farm. One dates back to 1910, but a newer 3,700-square-foot residence was built in 1983 and has four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The structures are irrelevant, however; the land is prime for development.

“It is the nicest piece of lakefront property in East Tennessee,” says Chip Miller of NAI Knoxville. “It’s in one of the highest growth areas and the demographics of the surrounding area are great.” Miller says he expects “only a handful” of people to make bids on the property. Will the land be sold for development? “Most certainly,” Miller said. The price though is the biggest question mark.

“It could go for $10 million or $40 million. It’s arguably worth $40 million,” Miller said, which equates to roughly $80,000 an acre.

For Sale: Val Kilmer’s New Mexico Ranch for $33 Million

Val Kilmer, star of Top Gun, Tombstone and Willow, has put his 5,970-acre Pecos River Ranch on the market for $33 million. John Watson of Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield has the listing.

The Pecos River Ranch features more than five miles of frontage on its namesake river. Kilmer’s 5,550-square-foot adobe home as well as an 1,800-square-foot caretaker’s home, additional guest homes, barns, garages, and outbuildings are included in the sale.

The ranch is located 8 miles from Pecos, 22 miles from Santa Fe, and 90 miles from Albuquerque.

Kilmer, who is rumored to be considering a run for governor of New Mexico, has owned the property for nearly 15 years. He previously listed portions of the ranch for sale in 2006, but found no buyers.

For Sale: Bell Ranch Gets Bigger

The biggest ranch on the market in America just got bigger. The heirs of William Lane, who assembled New Mexico’s Bell Ranch 40 years ago, have elected to include an additional 40,100 acres of canyon country and pastureland in the offering, which now totals 290,100 contiguous deeded acres or 453 square miles. Carrying capacity for the ranch is 5,000AU.

The new price for the Bell is $103 million – $99 million for the land and $4 million for the livestock and equipment – or $341 per acre, according to the Orvis/Cushman & Wakefield website. The price represents a 22 percent reduction below the original asking price. Contact John Watson or Rye Austin at 888-541-4300 for additional details.

Property Details include:

290,100(+/-) deeded acres in northeastern New Mexico featuring Bell Mountain, a dramatic butte punctuating the landscape.

Located east of Santa Fe primarily in San Miguel County.

The Canadian River flows through the ranch for over 13 river miles.

Ranch is adjacent to 9,600-acre Conchas Lake with lake house and boat storage.

Carrying capacity for cattle operation is 5,000AU.

Headquarters includes general manager residence, ranch offices, stables, barns, garage and storage facilities.

10,832-square foot, 8-bedroom Hacienda with swimming pool and tennis court.

Four cowboy camps across the property.

Bell Ranch airfield has storage for 100LL avgas and a large hangar for its 8,200′ x 75′ lighted dirt airstrip.

Largest Drop in Rural Land Prices Worldwide? The Ukraine

According to this ABC Australia report, land values around the world are plummeting. The hardest hit country? The Ukraine.

The value of rural land in the Ukraine has plummeted a staggering 75 percent. The Australian news report indicates that the basics of the problem are the same there as everywhere else: thanks to the credit crisis the previously well-lined pockets of investors are no more. The report also references, but does not detail, a 5 percent drop in land values for the United States and Great Britain.

Developer’s Diary: Canyon Ridge

When Mike Plant first set foot on the 5,700 breathtakingly beautiful acres of Northern New Mexico that would become Canyon Ridge, he knew he had found a gem.

“I’m blessed, I’ve been around a lot of beauty, and anyone who spends a day and touches a mere sliver of Canyon Ridge will tell you it is one of the most beautiful places in the world,” says Plant, a lifelong outdoorsman who also happens to be an executive vice president with the Atlanta Braves.

“It’s where I go to get away, to be immersed in nature, to get energized,” Plant says, adding, “You can hike for miles and miles, ride a horse or mountain bike, cross country ski, and enjoy unbelievable hunting and fishing.”

Overlooking the Chama River Valley in Northern New Mexico, Canyon Ridge is a one-of-a-kind conservation community featuring ranch estates ranging in size from 10 to 60 acres. Slated to open in the summer of 2012, each of Canyon Ridge’s 80 lucky owners will have access to an additional 4,000 acres that have been set aside in a permanent conservation easement.

“It’s doing all things little and big – whether it’s putting the majority of the land in conservation, developing a recreational management plan with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, or little things like allowing snowmobiles and only electric ATVs on roads and not trails – that make this one very special place,” Plant says.

I myself was surprised to find out that Canyon Ridge is only the second development ever approved for a conservation easement by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

This type of long-range planning is part of Plant’s big-picture approach to Canyon Ridge. With $17 million already invested and nearly 40 ranch estates slated to be ready this summer, he has made it clear to his Northern New Mexico neighbors that he is putting his money where its mouth is.

“We were the first to get a master plan approved in Rio Arriba County,” Plant points out, “and we did it because we didn’t do anything under the table. We said, ‘Here’s what we’re doing and not doing, and our top priorities are to preserve the heritage of the land and its wildlife inhabitants, and to provide jobs to local and regional people.’

“I learned a long time ago to respect other cultures and heritages,” Plant adds. “These people know I’m not the big guy in a suit from Atlanta. They can see my boots weren’t just pulled out of a box.”

Got to like that.

Florida: “It’s Almost Like a Fire Sale”

A University of Florida study has put a staggering number on just how badly the economic crisis has impacted rural land values in the Sunshine State. The study concludes that land values plummeted upwards of 55 percent in 2008 from highs just one year previously.

The study focused exclusively on rural land, mostly those outside of urban areas that would have been hot spots for development just prior to the worldwide economic collapse.

“In some cases, it’s almost like a fire sale,” said Rodney Clouser, the UF professor of food and resource economics who led the survey.

The study found the northern part of the state most affected with values dropping the aforementioned 55 percent.

Farmland, that which traditionally would be the main focus of The Land Report readers, saw declines that reached as much as 26 percent.

What’s worse is the predicted continued decline in 2009.

Land prices are expected to continue their drop through 2009 — although not as dramatically as in 2008. Survey responses from individuals involved in the Florida real estate market predict an overall drop between 5 and 17 percent.

The full UF report is available here.

Supreme Court Rules 9-0 Against Hawaiians’ Land Claims

Last week the nation’s highest court ruled that Native Hawaiians do not have a legal claim to state lands totaling more than 1.2 million acres. Native Hawaiians as well as the state’s Office of Hawaiian Affairs had asserted that a 1993 Congressional Apology Resolution by the federal government for the illegal overthrow of Hawaii’s monarchy in 1893 had recognized the “inherent sovereignty of the native Hawaiian people.”

Read more at:
“Court Rules Against Claim to Hawaiian Lands,” L.A. Times, March 31, 2009.

For Sale: Lance Armstrong’s Texas Ranch

Apparently retirement was just too boring for Lance Armstrong. The seven-time Tour de France winner ended his hiatus from cycling earlier this year and is currently in training for a shot at his eighth Tour title later this year. (Although that training had a setback with a nasty crash a few weeks ago.)

Armstrong’s return to cycling may be the reason why the Texan’s 447-acre ranch outside of Austin has been on the market for a few months. The ranch, according to the popular men’s gadget blog Uncrate, features more than seven miles of mountain biking trails, 1,886 feet of Pedernales River frontage, and ownership in Dead Man’s Hole, a private swimming hole shared by area landowners.

The asking price? $12 million.

Along with the land you’ll get a modestly sized 4,241-square-foot home. The interior, however, is far from modest as it appears more resort living than a home.

Keep in mind if you plan to move there, the neighbors are quick to keep their little corner of heaven in pristine condition. Armstrong found himself in a tiff with his neighbors over Dead Man’s Hole. It cost him $850,000 to clean up the clear-watered retreat after a dam built on his property leaked sediment into the water.

Billion-Dollar Everglades Sale Drastically Downsized

Florida’s ambitious Everglades restoration plan has been drastically scaled back, a victim of the economic recession. Originally slated to be a 187,000-acre, $1.75 billion deal when announced in June 2008, the deal has gone back to the drawing board on two occasions. On Wednesday, April 1, Florida Gov. Charlie Christ announced the most recent revision of the ambitious plan: $533 million for 72,500 acres of citrus and sugar cane fields that presently belong to U.S. Sugar.

Read more at:
“Crist Announces Scaled-Back U.S. Sugar Land Deal,” The News-Press, April 1, 2009.

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