Land Report January 2012 Newsletter

Here’s a great way to start your year: the January edition of The Land Report newsletter.

This issue is chock full of stories and links to essential resources, including the Winter 2011 issue of The Land Report and of course January’s Land Report Top Ten.

As you might imagine, December wrapped up with a slew of end-of-the-year closings, and several key ones are detailed in the January newsletter, including the sale of Montana’s Horse Ranch and the sealed-bid auction of the Robert Mondavi Estate in Napa.

For more up to the minute reports on listings, auctions, sales, and breaking news pertaining to land and landowners, be sure to follow The Magazine of the American Landowner on Facebook and Twitter.

P.S. Our award-winning quarterly magazine is available in a print version via subscription.

Land Report Top Ten: November 2011

From Hawaii to the Lone Star State, here are America’s priciest properties, led by $175 million Jackson Land and Cattle Ranch, pictured here, which is listed by Hall and Hall.

1. Jackson Land and Cattle: $175 million

These 1,750 acres are simply the most phenomenal property to come to the market in the Teton Valley in decades. Jackson Land and Cattle is one-of-a-kind in every respect: world-class improvements, including an equestrian center designed by Jonathan Foote, AIA; lack of any development restrictions; and don’t forget the stunning Teton views. Hall and Hall’s John Pierce has the listing.

2. Walton Ranch: $100 million

This 1,848-acre working cattle ranch was pieced together by the Walton family beginning in 1958. The family placed the ranch under conservation easement in 1983. Billy Long and Ron Morris of Ranch Marketing Associates have the listing.

3. Ranch Dos Pueblos: $84 million

This oceanfront parcel is on the market for the first time in three decades. Spanning 2,175 acres just west of Santa Barbara, it’s one of the largest remaining ranches along the breathtaking Gaviota Coast. Kerry Mormann & Associates has the listing.

4. Tranquility Estate: $75 million

These 210 acres on Lake Tahoe are crowned by a 20,000 square-foot mansion. Owned by Tommy Hilfiger co-founder Joel Horowitz, it was originally priced at $100 million in 2006. Listed by Shari Chase and Sue Lowe of Chase International.

5. Aspen Valley Ranch: $59 million

Billed as the largest ranch near Aspen in the Roaring Fork Valley, this ranch boasts senior water rights as well as over 800 acres and is located just 10 minutes from the Aspen airport. Joshua Saslove of Joshua & Co. has the listing.

6. Robert Taylor Ranch: $56 million

112 acres in Los Angeles’s tony Brentwood enclave. The roomy ranch house, which was designed by Robert Byrd, features 17 bedrooms and 17 bathrooms. Joyce Rey of Coldwell Banker Previews International has the listing.

7. Hana Ranch: $55 million
This 4,500-acre working ranch on eastern Maui surrounds the town of Hana. The property boasts two miles of Pacific oceanfront and rises over 2,200 feet up the slopes of Haleakala. Dan Omer of Island Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

8. Rockpile Ranch: $54 million

For only the third time in over a century, this 55,374-acre cattle ranch in the Davis Mountains of Far West Texas is on the market. Since 1992, the Rockpile has been owned by McCoy Remme Ranches (No. 41 on the 2011 Land Report 100). James King of King Land and Water is the listing agent.

9. Dana Ranch: $45 million

With only two distinguished owners in nearly 100 years and an unmatched record of profitability, the Dana is considered by many to be the finest operating and recreational ranch in the Rocky Mountain West. Supporting 3,000 animal units on 59,000± acres, it boasts over 13 miles of superb fisheries and an incredible diversity of wildlife resources from elk to waterfowl to upland birds. Listed by Dave Johnson with Hall and Hall.

10. Flying Dog Ranch: $40 million

This 245-acre Aspen landmark features nearly a mile of Collins Creek and Woody Creek and borders the White River National Forest. Morris & Fyrwald Sotheby’s International Realty has the listing.

Click here to download a copy of the November 2011 newsletter.

Landmark Sale of 310,000 Acres Completed

In one of the largest conservation purchases to date, Plum Creek (PCL) completed the sale of a huge swath of Western Montana to the U.S. Forest Service and Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. Swiss philanthropist Hansjorg Wyss jump-started the deal with a $25 million donation that he subsequently upped to $35 million. Other funding sources included the State of Montana, which contributed $65 million, and the Department of Agriculture, whose $250 million expenditure was arranged by Sen. Max Baucus.

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.

16 – Robert Earl Holding – 400,000 acres

Salt Lake City resident Robert Earl Holding, 81, owner of Sinclair Oil, 2,600 filling stations, the Sun Valley ski resort, and a number of hotels and other resorts, reportedly owns 400,000 acres of ranchland in Wyoming and Montana. Holding ranked 77th on the 2008 Forbes 400 list with a fortune estimated at $4.6 billion.

34 – Tim Blixseth – 213,895 acres

Blixseth made his fortune in timber, but recently shifted focus to the luxury resort business. In the 1990s, he and his wife, Edra, developed the country’s only private golf and ski resort, the Yellowstone Club, on 13,400 acres in Big Sky, Montana. In November 2008, the posh retreat, whose membership roster includes Bill Gates and Dan Quayle, filed for bankruptcy. The timber tycoon also owns 180,000 acres of former Boise Cascade land in Idaho.

55 – Scott Family – 150,000 acres

Homer Scott started the Padlock Ranch in 1943 with 300 cows on 3,000 acres. Today the family’s holdings stretch from Hardin, Montana, to Sheridan, Wyoming. The ranch, which is headquartered at the foot of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains, now raises and markets more than 12,000 calves a year.

69 – Russell Gordy – 132,927 acres

The oil patch has been good to this Houstonian, whose diverse interests range from oil and gas to methane and ranching. His Rock Creek Ranch in Southwest Texas tips the scales at almost 89,000 acres, and he paid around $1,000 an acre for his 44,000-acre Montana spread.

67 – Tom Siebel – 135,000 acres

A former Oracle executive, Siebel, 55, netted an estimated $500 million in 2005 when he sold his Siebel Systems to Larry Ellison, his old boss at Oracle. His cattle operation ships about 1.5 million pounds of beef off his two sprawling Montana ranches, the Dearborn near Wolf Creek and the N Bar near Grass Range.

62 – Thomas Lane – 140,000 acres

Thomas Lane began acquiring Montana land in 1954 with a 320-acre purchase. With the help of his four sons, Lane now runs seven livestock operations: Windsor Livestock, which is the home ranch; and Holland Ranch, Giles Ranch, Foster Ranch, Hodson Ranch, Gasper Ranch, and Palm Ranch.

« Previous Page — Next Page »