LandReport.com » Minerals

Land Report 100: No. 62 Clayton Williams Jr.

Land Report Editors — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:54:48 +0000

OF THE COUNTRY’S 100 LARGEST LANDOWNERS, FEW ARE AS COLORFUL AS CLAYTIE.

A passionate approach to land stewardship is but one of Clayton Williams’s claims to fame. The diehard Texas Aggie is a born entrepreneur whose many pursuits have ranged from insurance salesman to banker, farmer, rancher, real estate developer, big-game hunter, philanthropist, conservationist, and, at one pivotal point in his career, front-running gubernatorial candidate. And like any self-made man, he can ride out tough times with the best of them—even down to his last bullet.

Williams’s trailblazing traits date to his colorful forebears, who mixed it up with the likes of Kit Carson, Billy the Kid, and Geronimo. The native Texan was born in Alpine in 1931 and raised in Fort Stockton. After attending Texas A&M and fulfilling his military obligations, he cut his teeth selling life insurance in Mineral Wells. But fate called him back to West Texas, where in a Fort Stockton coffee shop he learned about a farm for sale. He struck a deal with its owner to form an oil and gas partnership, and the cornerstone of his career was set. From that small start, his financial empire eventually grew to include a host of companies, from cow-calf operations to a safari company to several entities bearing the ClayDesta moniker, a nod to himself and wife Modesta.

It was in Modesta that the wildcatter found a soul mate who shared his love of the land and sense of adventure. In his book Claytie: The Roller-Coaster Life of a Texas Wildcatter, Mike Cochran describes Williams’s run as “an exciting mix of hard work and great fun, building pipelines and drilling wells one day and branding calves and working cows the next—all embellished with a spectacular marriage. Claytie and Modesta really are bigger than life.”

After an unsuccessful run for governor of Texas in 1990, Claytie turned his considerable energies on going public with Clayton Williams Energy Inc. (CWEI). With an estimated net worth of $100 million, his name was added to the Forbes Four Hundred. Today, he is a fixture on the Land Report 100 and ranked No. 62 in 2009 with 146,655 acres. During the past decade, CWEI has drilled 167 horizontal wells, mostly in the Austin Chalk formation as well as the Cotton Valley Reef in Texas, in Louisiana, in Mississippi, and in New Mexico.

“Claytie is, by all measures, one of a kind,” says Cochran. “He’s an absolutely wonderful character. With his ranch he’s been really innovative and was recognized nationally for some of the innovations to trap water and to get the best use of the land.”

Crossing the Divide with Al Biernat

Trey Garrison — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:00:35 +0000

When it came to the Colorado hamlet of Creede, it was love at first sight for Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat (standing front and center with wife Jeannie and writer Trey Garrison). And what’s not to love about Creede? Nestled among high rocky cliffs on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, the historic mining town is the picture-perfect home of just 400 year-round residents. The rest of the year, tens of thousands of tourists and part-timers cruise through. Best of all, it’s not a ski town. Unlike Vail or Aspen, there’s no crush of obnoxious fashionistas clamoring for lattes or sashimi. Consequently, snug cabins and larger retreats range in price from ridiculously affordable to seven-figure splendor.

BY TREY GARRISON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GUSTAV SCHMIEGE
PUBLISHED SUMMER 2009

But Creede is no backcountry village. A tiny little Whoville of sorts, Creede boasts a slew of incredible little restaurants, art galleries, and the Creede Repertory Theatre, which has won acclaim from high-minded New York drama critics. The hunting is so rewarding that people wait years to get a permit to stalk elk, moose, and other trophy critters. The fly-fishing on the Rio Grande and its tributaries attracts anglers from around the world. And just four percent of the land in Mineral County is privately owned. The rest is controlled by the U.S. Forest Service.

Enter Al Biernat, a self-made success who worked his way up from bussing tables at the Palm Restaurant in Los Angeles to running the Palm’s Dallas locale as its GM. When a lease came up on a prime piece of Dallas real estate, he signed on the dotted line and created the dining establishment that now bears his name.

Creede was a dream come true—a place of solace, relaxation, and recreation to share with his family and friends—so he and his wife, Jeannie, bought a 30-acre plot in a delicate Alpine zone at 10,600 feet. The land is regulated by the Mineral County Alpine Zoning Commission, and Biernat has a thick stack of regulations to prove it. Everything from the size of structures to the materials he could use is spelled out. Surrounded on three sides by Forest Service land, he believed his cherished investment would be protected from the over development that has plagued other Colorado towns.

Since 2005, Biernat has put a substantial amount of his hard-earned cash into his cabin and the surrounding property. “It seemed the perfect little secret place,” Biernat says. “I had no idea what could be coming.”

But he should have.

Until the mid-1980s, Creede was a mining town, site of Colorado’s last big silver strike. Since then, however, the only miners have been tourists, picking up bits of quartz and the occasional fleck of pyrite (better known as fool’s gold). Biernat was positive this peaceful oasis was immutable.

He was so sure of it that he believed mining could never come back. That’s why he signed his deed, despite a standard print disclaimer and warning right above the signature line stating that he was not buying the patented mineral rights to his land. And yet, from 2007 through the end of 2008, mining returned—exploratory mining for untapped veins of nickel, silver, lead, and gold.

The prospect sent Biernat and a good number of local landowners into a tailspin of worry and doubt. They weren’t just concerned about the light and noise pollution from drilling operations or the heavy truck traffic on narrow, winding passes. Biernat was in a bind because while he owned the surface rights to his property, someone else owned the patented mineral rights. And the implications are enormous.

Different parties often own the surface and the subsurface rights. These interests may have been created through the reservation of the minerals by the government or may result from a decision by a landowner to sell their mineral interests.

Mining claims are initially unpatented claims, which give the right only for those activities necessary to explore and mine. Much as farmers could obtain title under the Homestead Act, miners can obtain a patent (a deed from the government). The owner of a patented claim can put it to any legal use. Bottom line? If extractable ore were found beneath his property, the subsurface rights owner can force landowners such as Biernat to sell.

Beyond that, full-scale mining would shatter the sanctity of the Continental Divide. Biernat’s 1,000-square-foot, loft-style cabin is something out of a Ralph Lauren catalog. It’s cozy, rustic, gorgeously decorated, and at night you get a better view of the stars than the Hubble telescope.

Biernat had planned to build a larger cabin and turn his existing one into a guest house. He had already added a barn-style garage for his truck, his ATVs, and the snowmobiles that are the only way to and from the cabin in winter. Needless to say, the return of mining put an end to Biernat’s construction plans. But to many longtime locals, another possibility loomed:

Was their dream of mining going to come true?

After the closure of the last active mine in 1985, Creede recreated itself as a tourism hub. But tourism is a fickle trade, which even opponents of mining admit. Ed Vita, an ex-techie who moved to Creede to get away from the rat race, owns two businesses in Creede. In the winters he runs San Juan Snowcat, and he owns the popular Old Miners Inn, where you can enjoy a mean pizza and the requisite adult beverage.

We sat outside on the inn’s upstairs deck, and Vita admitted he tentatively supports the return of mining. “It’s all exploratory. Until I see the numbers and the contracts, I’m not counting on anything. I know there will be some impact on the tourist industry, but it can be hard surviving here in the winter months when it’s just the 400 locals circulating the same dollars,” Vita says.

But businessmen like Avery Auger, president of Creede America Group, love the idea of mining coming back to Creede. Creede America is developing custom homes that start in the $300,000 range. Auger is not concerned about mining. In fact, he expects to draw potential buyers from the mining operations, at least from among those in management and high-tech positions that command six-figure salaries. His development overlooks Creede and is protected by an earthen berm that blocks sight and dampens noise. “This town needs this kind of business to grow,” Auger says. “This is only going to increase property values and bring money this town needs.”

Brian Egolf agrees. Egolf first came to Creede with his grandfather when he was only two years old. As years passed, Egolf thought someday he would relocate to Creede permanently. After finding his way he watched the mines close. He swore one day he would reopen them.

Over the last decade, Egolf gathered patented mineral rights for large swaths of land around Creede. A savvy businessman, he knew that the depressed price of minerals wouldn’t last forever and approached Idaho-based Hecla Mining. Egolf wanted Hecla to come to Creede, test the mines, and, if profitable, oversee production.

“I’m really hoping that we can revitalize Creede, so that people can stay and earn a good living and that their children won’t leave as soon as they graduate high school, because there will be opportunities here,” Egolf says.

Hecla’s exploratory plans called for three years of exploratory mining in a 36-square-mile area, an investment of more than $12 million. But when mineral prices declined, Hecla suspended operations. Although it promises to resume exploration in the near future, many in Creede are doubtful it will return anytime soon.

That’s no relief to Biernat, who is still considering a new house, a new well, and solar power. If commodity prices rebound, mining could come back. “Do I put the money in and risk losing my investment?” Biernat asks. “I don’t know.”

Active mining operations around a recreational retreat could drive down property values long before Hecla might acquire Biernat’s cabin. Although it’s appraised at $550,000 right now, it would be worth much less if mining resumed.

When Biernat first saw his land, everything convinced him his investment would be protected. Set in an Alpine zone, it is surrounded by Forest Service land. Brokers emphasized how mining was dead and that the town had been reinvented as a cultural and recreation hub. But unless an area is declared a wilderness, the U.S. Forest Service allows activities on federal land like mining, timber harvesting, and grazing.

To be fair, the fact that Biernat would not own the patented mineral rights wasn’t exactly in fine print. Biernat is a smart businessman and took a risk. And, he admits, despite all his anxieties, he doesn’t think he’d do anything different.

“I knew I was taking a little bit of a gamble,” Biernat admits. “I should have read things more closely. But I’ll be honest. If I could go back and do it again, I would, no matter what the stress and worry has been. Just the memories I built with my children and my wife make it worth it. I just wish I could be sure our investment would be safe over the long haul.”

While some of the specifics of his case are unique to Colorado law, the issue of patented mineral rights is a federal one. From coast to coast and everywhere in between, the potential for profit from subsurface minerals means that if a landowner hasn’t secured those rights, it could place their investment at risk.

Caveat emptor should be every landbuyer’s watchwords, even if they have competent lawyers and erstwhile brokers on their side. Should you find that dream spot, it just may not be possible to acquire the mineral rights to go with the surface estate. At that point, you have to measure the risk, and decide if it’s worth it.

For Biernat, it most definitely has been. But it’s not something he takes lightly. Every time he talks about the issue, you can see the concern etched on his face and the troublesome pall on his otherwise optimistic visage.

“I love that town, I love the fact that it’s an artists’ community, and I love the people,” he says. “It’s taken me so long to really start to fit into the town, and I’d hate to have to leave it. But I’m blessed. I have that option. What about the guy who doesn’t have that choice?”

Northeastern Landowners Get $165M For Natural Gas Rights

Eric OKeefe — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:57:44 +0000

A coalition of landowners in one of the country’s emerging natural gas hot spots has reached an agreement to lease 30,000 acres to Fortuna Energy for natural gas drilling rights. The $165-million, five-year deal for Marcellus Shale drilling rights comes out to $5,500 per acre, plus royalties.

The Friendsville Group is made up of 600 property owners in Susquehanna and Bradford counties in Pennsylvania, and in Broome County, New York. Individual owners will have the option to extend the lease for another three years, making it a “one-size-fits-all” deal, according to Pat Flaherty, who helped negotiate the deal.

Other perks to landowners were included in the deal, including approval of developmental plans and retaining rights to other minerals on the property.

“It’s by far the best offer we’ve seen,” said Larry Barrack, a Pennsylvania property owner who spoke with Gannett reporter George Basler.

Fortuna , a subsidiary of Calgary-based Talisman Energy, is one of North America’s largest independent producers with more than 22,000 oil and gas leases.

Landowners in Pennsylvania can expect payment within 90 days of signing the agreement, Fortuna officials said. Given the current moratorium on oil-and-gas drilling in New York, the Broome County leases – primarily in Binghamton and Vestal – will be structured differently, giving landowners $500 per acre when the lease is signed and the remaining $5,000 per acre once the moratorium is lifted. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) plans to release results from an environmental impact report this fall.

Interior Department Investigates Renewable Energy Speculators

Grant Gannon — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 07:00:56 +0000

Remember the Interior Department’s ongoing investigation into possible abuses of the Royalty-in-Kind program? Now the department’s Inspector General has started to look into possible abuses by companies seeking to develop renewable energies on BLM land.

Three years ago, BLM received six applications for solar energy projects. In the last year? 130, including one for 300,000 acres from Cogentrix Solar Investments.

The focus of the investigation is renewable energy companies as well as speculators that have applications pending for BLM leases and are seeking to be acquired based on the value of those applications.

According to the LA Times:

Officials said last week that the inspector general’s office of the Department of the Interior was investigating Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar Inc.’s recent acquisition of Hayward, Calif.-based OptiSolar, and its unfinished renewable energy projects, for $400 million.The deal gave First Solar control of what the company described as OptiSolar’s “strategic land rights” to 136,000 acres of public land in San Bernardino, Riverside and Kern counties.

In acquiring OptiSolar, First Solar acquired the lease applications, not the land itself. Those applications are no guarantee according to Greg Miller of the BLM.

“There is no value associated with a mere application, which could be rejected by us for a variety of reasons,” Miller told the Times.

As a result, application approvals for solar energy projects have been suspended while officials sort out what’s going on.

Read more at:
“Renewable Energy Sparks a Probe of a Modern-Day Land Rush,” Los Angeles Times, June 1, 2009.

Foreign Investors Own Major Stake in Maine

Eric OKeefe — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:00:09 +0000

Foreign investors own an interest in 21.2 million acres of U.S. forest and farmland, an amount that equates to just under 1 percent of all the land in the U.S. Every one of the 50 states as well as Puerto Rico has foreign ownership, but far and away the largest concentration was in Maine with 3,323,846 acres (16 percent of the national total). Forest and timberland accounted for more than 3 million of those acres with Canadian companies the leading landowners.

The figures were compiled by the Farm Service Agency from filings required by the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 and are available in this handy 178-page report.

Obama to Nominate Salazar for Interior

Grant Gannon — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:00:34 +0000

Landowners in the West will have one of their own heading up the Interior Department in the new Obama Administration. According to published reports, Sen. Ken Salazar (D-CO) will be named the 50th Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior later this week by President-elect Barack Obama.

Salazar is no stranger to readers of The Land Report. As you may recall, the Colorado native has been one of the staunchest opponents of the Pinon Canyon expansion in the southeast portion of the Centennial State. The proposed expansion of the Fort Carson training ground includes doubling the size of a military exercise area by acquiring land owned primarily by locally owned cattle operations.

Salazar and his brother John, a U.S. congressman, are fifth-generation Coloradans who grew up working on a family-owned ranch in the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. After studying political science at Colorado College and earning a law degree from Michigan, he rose to political prominence as Colorado’s attorney general. He won his Senate seat in 2004.

Brazil to Issue Deeds to Thousands of Landowners in the Amazon Basin

Eric OKeefe — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:00:50 +0000

Brazilians have long feared that foreigners were exploiting great expanses of the Amazon River Basin, a story we covered earlier this year when the Brazilian government began to investigate unlawful land sales to overseas interests. Now the country has established a program to ascertain ownership of farms of all sizes and streamline the process by which landowners can get deeds to their property. The root cause of this initiative? Less than 4 percent of privately owned land in the Amazon is actually deeded.

“No one knows who owns what, and that is the source of economic disintegration and violent confrontation at the grassroots,” Brazil’s strategic affairs minister, Roberto Mangabeira Unger, told The Associated Press. “We must settle this problem if we are going to move forward on other issues.”

Tops on the government’s list is protecting the interests of thousands of farm owners. Under the government’s plan, farms less than 100 hectares (250 acres) will be deeded at no cost. Farms larger than 100 hectares will be required to pay to receive title with the price commensurate with the size of the farm. Those farms larger than 2,500 hectares will require congressional approval to receive title.

“For the first time in our history we will have a form of social and economic organization that is powerfully slanted to the small and medium-sized owners and farmers, not to the big guys, who will be the losers,” he added.

North Dakota Bucks the Recession

Eric OKeefe — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:45:45 +0000

The rest of the U.S. may have fallen into a recession, but at the north end of the Great Plains a robust economy and a tight labor supply is keeping North Dakota humming. Unemployment rate? Holding steady at 3.4 percent. New car sales? Up 27 percent. Foreclosure rate? Among the nation’s lowest. And the primary legislative budget issue? What do with a $1.2 billion surplus. What about land prices?

In 2008, land values increased 18 percent, up for the ninth straight year, to $765 per acre, according to the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service. Since 2004, when farmland prices equaled the 1982 record average of $455 per acre, a new record has been set every year, said Brian Kugel, a statistician with the North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Service.

Among the reasons being cited are strong farm commodity prices and a surge in oil production.

Nationally, farm real estate values averaged a record $2,350 per acre in January, up about 9 percent from 2007, according to the USDA. The agency cited strong commodity prices, farm programs, and tax incentives among the reasons for the increase.

More specifics on North Dakota land values can be found in this article from the Bismarck Tribune. A good overview of the overall picture in the Sioux State can be found in Saturday’s New York Times.

Chesapeake Gets $3+ Billion Injection for Marcellus Shale

Eric OKeefe — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 12:00:19 +0000

So the bottom has fallen out of the energy markets and commodity prices are dropping even lower. Next step? Time to welcome the overseas investors. Remember, folks, we’ve got trillions of dollars of assets tied up in land, and all of it is protected by Old Glory. No matter how bad Wall Street is faring, no matter how low consumer confidence drops, there are plenty of eagle-eyed investors with very deep pockets who look at our timberland, our shorelines, our minerals, and even our water, and what do they see?

A huge buying opportunity, which is exactly what Norway’s StatoilHydro did when they paid Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) $1.25 billion in cash for a 32.5 percent interest in its assets in the Marcellus Shale, the natural-gas field that extends from western New York south and west across Pennsylvania to West Virginia. Statoil also committed to spend an additional $2.13 billion to offset Chesapeake’s drilling expenses. Here’s the full release from Chesapeake’s website announcing the deal on November 11:

Chesapeake Energy Corporation Announces Marcellus Shale Joint Venture and International Unconventional Natural Gas Exploration Alliance with StatoilHydro

OKLAHOMA CITY–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nov. 11, 2008–Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) today announced the execution of an agreement for a joint venture with StatoilHydro (NYSE:STO, OSE:STL) whereby StatoilHydro will acquire a 32.5% interest in Chesapeake’s Marcellus Shale assets in Appalachia for $3.375 billion, leaving Chesapeake with a 67.5% working interest. The assets include approximately 1.8 million net acres of leasehold, of which StatoilHydro will own approximately 0.6 million net acres and Chesapeake will own approximately 1.2 million net acres.

StatoilHydro will pay $1.25 billion in cash at closing and will pay a further $2.125 billion from 2009 to 2012 by funding 75% of Chesapeake’s 67.5% share of drilling and completion expenditures until the $2.125 billion obligation has been funded. Chesapeake plans to continue acquiring leasehold in the Marcellus Shale play and StatoilHydro will have the right to a 32.5% participation in any such additional leasehold.

Additionally, Chesapeake and StatoilHydro have agreed to enter into an international strategic alliance to jointly explore unconventional natural gas opportunities worldwide. Closing of the transaction and strategic alliance is anticipated to occur by year-end 2008.

Helge Lund, President and CEO of StatoilHydro, stated, “I am pleased that we today have made a strategically important move by joining forces with Chesapeake, which is the leading U.S. natural gas player. We are establishing a strong platform for further developing our gas value chain business and growing our position in unconventional gas worldwide. The agreement we have entered into with Chesapeake provides us with a solid position in an attractive long-term resource base under competitive terms. Additionally, this deal adds a major building block to the gas value chain position we have established in the U.S., the world’s largest and most liquid gas market. This is a significant step in strengthening our U.S. gas position, building on our existing capacity rights for the Cove Point LNG terminal, our gas trading and marketing organization and the gas producing assets in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are honored to establish a business relationship with StatoilHydro and are excited about the mutually beneficial nature of our transaction with them. We believe this transaction creates substantial value for both companies and unique opportunities for international growth with one of the leading international oil and gas companies. Jointly we can export our world class unconventional natural gas technology for further long-term growth.

“Chesapeake has now completed three shale joint ventures that collectively value Chesapeake’s Haynesville, Fayetteville and Marcellus Shale assets (before the joint ventures) at approximately $34 billion. Through these transactions, Chesapeake sold a 20% working interest in its Haynesville Shale assets to Plains Exploration & Production Company (NYSE:PXP) for $3.3 billion (thereby retaining an 80% working interest valued at $13.2 billion), a 25% working interest in its Fayetteville Shale assets to BP America (NYSE:BP) for $1.9 billion (thereby retaining a 75% working interest valued at $5.7 billion) and now has agreed to sell a 32.5% working interest in its Marcellus Shale assets to StatoilHydro for $3.375 billion (thereby retaining a 67.5% working interest valued at $7.0 billion). The total consideration to CHK from these sales has been approximately $8.575 billion, of which approximately $4.0 billion has been (or will be) in cash and approximately $4.575 billion is in drilling and completion cost carries. Furthermore, CHK retains the remaining ownership percentages of the joint ventures that have been valued at approximately $26 billion, or over $40 per share of value from just these three shale joint venture transactions. These joint ventures clearly demonstrate the enormous value of Chesapeake’s shale natural gas assets and the unique capability of our organization to develop them.”

Chesapeake was advised on the transaction by Jefferies Randall & Dewey of Houston, Texas.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation is the largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, the company’s operations are focused on exploratory and developmental drilling and corporate and property acquisitions in the Fort Worth Barnett Shale, Fayetteville Shale, Haynesville Shale, Mid-Continent, Appalachian Basin, Permian Basin, Delaware Basin, South Texas, Texas Gulf Coast and Ark-La-Tex regions of the United States. Further information is available at www.chk.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Chesapeake believes that its expectation to close the Marcellus Shale joint venture and international strategic alliance and to execute its development plan as described is based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectation will prove to have been correct. See “Risk Factors” in the company’s 2007 Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the 2008 third quarter and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a discussion of risk factors that affect its business and could affect the referenced joint venture and strategic alliance. Chesapeake undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

CONTACT: Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Jeffrey L. Mobley, CFA, 405-767-4763
Senior Vice President -
Investor Relations and Research
jeff.mobley@chk.com
or
Marc Rowland, 405-879-9232
Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer
marc.rowland@chk.com
SOURCE: Chesapeake Energy Corporation

Slowdown Forecast for Texas Land

Eric OKeefe — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 07:00:13 +0000

Ag economists at Texas A&M are predicting that the red-hot Texas land market will lose its sizzle next year. Since 2003, land prices have increased an average of 14.5 percent annually, and with the median price statewide approximately $2,300 per acre, that means the average price would jump to $4,600 per acre by 2013. According to the Aggies, that’s not going to happen. Here’s why:

1) FALLING COMMODITY PRICES. Higher oil costs pushed grain prices to record levels this year. But as oil dropped, so did the support for ethanol, and less demand for ethanol means lower corn prices, which will cool the demand for cropland.

2) STRONGER DOLLAR. As the American dollar continues to grow stronger, American foodstuffs become more expensive overseas. End result? Less demand.

3) TIGHTER CREDIT. Any explanation needed? See your banker to discuss.

4) THE BURGEONING FEDERAL DEBT. Since about one-third of the federal debt is held by foreign investors, the global slowdown means the U.S. Treasury will have to pay higher rates to attract and hold these funds. As the Treasury increases its rates, U.S. borrowers will feel the pinch.

Want the rest of the story? Here you go:

download: 2009 Texas Rural Real Estate Value Outlook (303.09KB)
added: 12/11/2008
clicks: 560
description: The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M takes a look at the rural land value forecast for Texas in 2009.