The Magazine of the American Landowner is an essential guide for investors, landowners, and those interested in buying or selling land. The award-winning quarterly is known for its annual survey of America's largest landowners, The Land Report 100.
Issue link: http://landreport.epubxp.com/i/522012
82 The LandReport | S U M M E R 2 0 1 5 LANDREPORT.COM A M E R I C A ' S BEST BROKERAGES 2 014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: E xperts in sporting, water- front, and recreational properties. Insight : "The 2014 market is a recovering one," says Owner Gary Kauffman. HomeLand Properties www.homelandproperties.com (936) 295-2500 2014 Sales: $50 - $100 Million Who: Huntsville, Texas-based, full-service firm with expertise in timberlands, farms, ranches, and transitional development lands. Wow: Closed on 11,000 acres of timberland in December. Jon Kohler & Associates www.jonkohler.com (850) 508-2999 2014 Sales: $100 - $250 Million Who: Top regional advisors for plantations, ranches, and high-quality land. Wow: Sold Longpine, the Ford family's iconic 5,850-acre Thomasville quail plantation. Insight: "The deal velocity of plantations and ranches is higher than anything that we have seen in our 23 years specializing in this niche," says Jon Kohler. Legacy Farms and Ranches of North Carolina legacyfarmsandranchesnc.com (919) 844-9492 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: Experts in farm and ranch sales in Central North Carolina. Wow: Sold beautiful, historic $1.54 million home/200-acre farm with seven ponds in the Creedmoor-Butner area. Insight: Brokers Gardner Reynolds and Frank Gombatz report increases in overall land activity and "are seeing increases in values as land prices rebound." Lile Real Estate www.lilerealestate.com (501) 374-3411 2 014 Sales: $100 - $250 Million Who: B outique land investment company specializing in ag, r ecreational, and timberland. Wow: Placement of the Prairie Wings Hunting Club in March along with the current listing of the Cache Drain Hunting Club. Insight: "The impact of the 2014 Farm Bill and the loss of direct payments are still not being felt in the market," says Principal Broker Gar Lile. Mossy Oak Properties Coastal Land & Real Estate www.mossyoakproperties.com (912) 674-2700 2014 Sales : < $50 Million Who: Full-service brokerage emphasizing rural land with a special focus on transitional development land from a team of agents that includes registered foresters, licensed surveyors, and land planners. Wow: Sold 1,125 acres in Jeff Davis County, Georgia, as well as 3,300 acres in Glynn County. Insight: "With the stock market at all-time highs, smart investors are selling high and looking to invest in land, which is still trading below value," says Broker Terrell Brazell. Mossy Oak Properties Delta Land Management Co. www.arkansaslandforsale.com (501) 604-4565 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: Row-crop farmland, recreational tract, and cattle ranch experts who manage both farmland and hunting properties with land managers and a biologist on staff. Wow: Represented a buyer and seller on a complex transaction that included a farm and part of Arkansas's Peckerwood Lake, renowned birthplace of flooded- timber duck hunting. Insight: "We anticipate selling more recreational lands to indi- v idual investors who are cashing in their securities portfolios," says E xecutive Broker Robert Eason. Mossy Oak Properties Forest Investments www.mossyoakproperties.com (601) 684-1516 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: Full-service forestry con- sulting firm specializing in the acquisition, management, and sale of timberland and recre- ational properties with additional expertise in 1031 Exchanges, land buying through self-directed IRAs, and educating investors on the merits of timberland. Wow: Closing on a 4,300-acre property owned by approximate- ly 30 different shareholders and handling the attendant issues associated with multiple ownerships and tax conse- quences of an asset held in a nonprofit corporation. Insight: "The timberland market was strong due primarily to the strength of the hardwood timber market, driven primarily by the uptick in the oil, gas, and pipeline industries," says Broker Rick Taylor. "The pine timber market showed gradual improvement." Mossy Oak Properties Home & Land Investments www.mossyoakproperties.com (228) 669-5515 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: Experts in everything from large investment tracts of timber and pastureland to camps and properties for coastal clients in search of a weekend retreat. Wow: In 2014, the brokerage had more than 7,250 acres listed (including a 2,800-acre tract) for sale utilizing new technology including drones used to shoot aerial photography and video for listings. Mossy Oak Properties Land and Luxury www.mopcarolinas.com (704) 658-1121 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: L icensed in the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia with a focus on rural farms, investment properties, timber- land, development tracts, and luxury homes while also working with banks and institutions to acquire and sell portions of their land portfolios. Wow: Listed Owl's Eye Vineyard, a fully operational vineyard overlooking the South Mountains in North Carolina. Insight: Expectations of upward-trending activity and land values throughout 2015. Mossy Oak Properties Logan Land Company www.loganforestry.com (205) 372-9321 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: Timberland and recre- ational-tract specialists. Wow: Sold a 600-acre high- fenced property in West Alabama boasting exceptional recreation and timberland opportunities. Insight: "There are lots of cash buyers looking in our market area right now," says Owner Jim Logan. "We need inventory to sell." Mossy Oak Properties of Louisiana www.mossyoakpropertiesla.com (888) 318-5263 2014 Sales: < $50 Million Who: Experts in rural land sales in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas, primarily for timber, recreation, agriculture, invest- ment, and development. Insight: "As the year ended, uncertainty and skepticism in our country's direction along with falling oil prices left buyers