In Conservation Easements, the Good, the Bad and the Greedy, real estate expert Charles B. Warren, A.S.A. writes on three dimensions in the process of sorting out the good from the bad and the greedy.
The first is a perspective of the broad tapestry of land economics, focused down to the question of conservation rights. The second is a brief review of value and price in this area. The third is a look at motivations in particular transactions. So, first, let us consider land and its value. Basically, land is valuable based on the sort of income it can generate. In the urban core, land zoned for high rise development is generally more valuable than lower density. In the suburbs the land values are more uniform, particularly if police power has tipped the scales against, say, detached single family residential. Purely market forces tend to value industrial more highly than agricultural, with exceptions, of course. Detached residential is next, followed by multi-family residential and commercial, in ascending order. This schema is deliberately simplistic.More to follow.
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