Large Acreage and Ranches – Gardiner Ray, LLC

Appraisals for Large Acreage and Ranches

Many of the ranches in this area are considered recreational ranches as it is difficult to support the value of the ranch with ongoing agricultural endeavors. Appraising ranch properties can be a challenge. Unlike working ranches focused on profitability, recreational ranches are used for family recreation, hunting, weekend getaways and corporate retreats along with traditional working ranch activities. The value of these properties can vary greatly due to the wide variety of improvements. While appraisers can almost always find comparable sales, it may require some time and research to not only find them buy also properly analyze them.

The layout of the different large acreage sites could affect its use and appeal. The way a property is laid out or its topographical features can be influential on its value. A property's terrain, cultivated land, pasture, water features, elevation changes, trees, views, natural habitat, mineral interests, fencing, and livestock and wildlife need to be taken into consideration. A narrow or irregular layout may limit the use potential or make the management of the land difficult. Whether the property is composed of mainly raw land versus development-ready land can also be an influential factor on the appraised value.

It’s not uncommon for the appraiser to have to pull comparable sales or listing data from extensive distances and consider various characteristics to help determine an appropriate value. A ranch or recreational ranch might have only a few similar properties within the same county, and those properties may have been held by the same owners for decades.

Ranch properties are unique properties requiring experience and attention to detail. The following are some of the examples of recreational ranch properties that appraisers at Gardiner Ray have experienced

45 Acre Equestrian Center in Wylie, Collin County, Texas
1,100 Acre cattle and farming ranch with multiple residential homes, and barns, Lamar County, Texas
1,100 Acre cattle and farming ranch with multiple residential homes, and barns, Lamar and Delta Counties, Texas
Six tracts of land ranging from 90 to 300 acres located in Delta County, Texas
2,100 Acre recreational ranch with over 90% of flood hazard area in Kaufman County, Texas
45 Acre equine supported ranch with apartments in Cooke County, Texas
75 acre recreational ranch with luxury residence and long-term speculative interests on Preston Road, Celina, Collin County, Texas

460 acre recreational ranch with 6,000 SF luxury quality Barndominium in Kaufman County, Texas
40 acre recreational ranch with proposed 30,000 SF indoor arena (cost of $2,500,000) in McKinney, Collin County, Texas
490 acres of recreational and agricultural land, Hopkins County, Texas
700 acres of agricultural land being help for long-term speculative interests in Greenville, Hunt County, Texas
200 acres of recreational and agricultural land being held for long-term speculative interests in Rockwall, Rockwall County, Texas
100 acres of recreational and agricultural land being held for short-term speculative interests in Prosper, Collin County, Texas
600 acre recreational ranch with 5,000 SF luxury quality residence, supportive residences, barns, recreational race track near Blue Ridge, Collin County, Texas
300 acre tract being broken up into six tracts along SH-380 and being held for long-term speculative interests, Farmersville, Collin County, Texas
300 acre recreational ranch with a variety of residential improvements and barns, Erath County, Texas
740 acre recreational land with large and numerous ponds, lakes in Cooke County, Texas
500 acre recreational ranch with good quality residence and barns in Eastland County, Texas
200 acre recreational land on the shores of Lake Fork, Wood County, Texas
150 acre recreational ranch with a variety of residential improvement and barns in Van Zandt County, Texas
300 acre recreational ranch that is 100% in a flood hazard area with proposed site improvements to enhance waterfowl hunting, near Seagoville, Dallas County, Texas
200 acre recreational ranch along the Brazos River, Somervell County, Texas
60 acre recreational ranch with luxury residence along the shores of Lake Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas
1,000 acre recreational and agricultural ranch with 75% flood hazard in Collin County, Texas
750 acre recreational ranch along the Brazos River with a variety of residential improvements and improvements for lodging and hunting, Hill County, Texas
5 acres in Bosque County Ranch, a 3,744 acre shared ranch concept, Bosque County, Texas
16,000 acre recreational, hunting and agricultural ranch, King County, Texas

850 acre recreational ranch with high fence and along Pine Creek, Lamar County, Texas
200 acres with proposed recreational and residential improvements, Freestone County, Texas
200 acres of recreational and agricultural land, Grayson County, Texas
400 acres of recreational and agricultural land with supportive improvements and large ponds/lakes, Fannin County, Texas
1,250 acres along the North Sulphur River of recreational and agricultural land with improvements, Fannin County, Texas
2,000 acre recreational ranch with luxury residential improvements and a 290-acre and a 170-acre private lakes, Henderson County, Texas
250 acre recreational ranch with 9,000 SF residence along the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard, Kaufman County, Texas
850 acre recreational ranch with luxury home, private air-strip, historical significance dated back to World War II, Denton County, Texas
Multiple Equestrian Centers ran for private and commercial use and ranging from 10 to 200+ acres in North Texas Area
900 acre recreational and agricultural ranch along the Red River in Hardeman County, Texas

Contact Gardiner Ray for more information or to make an appointment.

Recreational Ranches and Rural Property Gallery

Recreational Ranches FAQs

How do you value a ranch or large acreage tract of land?

In most instances, the Sales Comparison Analysis is relied upon in valuing a ranch or large acreage tract of land. The comparable sales or listings must be reduced to a common unit of comparison, such as a price per acre. Most likely, these properties represent a unique type of property and the following considerations should be recognized.

These types of properties are typically owner-occupied and/or predominantly utilized by the owner. The primary purpose of the property can be for personal enjoyment, wildlife management, breeding of livestock, trophy breeding, fishing, recreational activities, and/or for an operating equestrian business of housing, feed, care, lessons, etc. However, regardless of the use, these properties are typically utilized by the owner in some capacity. Hence, these types of properties are not generally income-driven, yet are utilized by the owner for their facilities. Further, as the owner typically has a personal use for the property, many times a main residence is found to house the owner of the property.

Due to the variety of uses and care given in recreational ranch, equestrian, wildlife management, agricultural endeavors, etc. these properties will typically possess a wide variety of improvements as well as a varying degree of quality. Further, some of these properties may possess improvements, which are a specific use to that owner. As a result, when potential buyers look for these types of properties, they analyze the purchase of the property by determining what the property has to offer for their specific use and the cost related to reproduce those improvements for their specific use.

Do the improvements on a ranch have value?

It is typical for the improvements to possess significant value and can be a focus when a property is purchased. However, these improvements do vary greatly and can reflect an owner’s wishes and desires.

Does the cost of the improvements on a ranch equal market value?

As ranch improvements many times reflect an owner’s personal wishes and desires, the contributory value will not equal the cost. To analyze the contributory value of improvements, we perform a depreciated cost analysis of the improvements of the comparable sales and/or analyze the reported contributory value of the comparable sale’s improvements. From this, we can extract a functional depreciation from market sales as many times these custom improvements reflect the owner’s needs and the market is not willing to pay the cost of replacement. This is very typical for this property type. The improved sales will show a range of market extracted functional depreciation. This range of functional depreciation reflects the appeal and desirability of the improvements. It is noted that those sales with specialized improvements and/or are located in areas where speculative property demand is high possess a higher functional depreciation or loss of value as it relates to cost. This is due to a limited market appeal for these type of improvements.