Insights
Plain-language guides on how California land is valued, written for owners, lenders, and advisors.
How agricultural land is appraised in California
Water, soils, plantings, and comparable sales: what drives the value of California farmland, and how an appraiser weighs each one.
Date-of-death appraisals for inherited land: what executors need
Why a retrospective value date matters, what the IRS expects to see in the report, and the California rules that catch families off guard.
Conservation easement appraisals, step by step
The before-and-after method, how to document an easement for grant funding or a donation, and where these appraisals go wrong.
How water rights change the value of farmland
Riparian rights, appropriative rights, wells, and district water: how each one shows up in the price of California farmland.
Entitled vs. unentitled land: pricing the difference
What entitlement risk means for price per acre, and how a land residual analysis measures it.
What lenders look for in a land appraisal
Scope, highest and best use, and the exposure-time questions that come up in underwriting, plus why you usually can't order the lender's appraisal yourself.
Why vacant land is harder to value than a house
Few sales, wide price ranges, and the importance of access, utilities, and slope. What makes raw land tricky, and how a good appraisal handles it.
Williamson Act contracts and land value
A Williamson Act contract lowers property taxes and restricts development. When does it change what the land is worth, and by how much?
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