Yes, you will get different values from different appraisers. No, you won't get "any price you want" in these large land transactions. Maybe in some "wink-wink" residential appraisals, but not large land transactions. Just too much risk and liability being created based on the values arrived at.
This is an interesting claim. Like you, I remember when these properties were selling for grazing values, which was supported by an income or cash flow appraisal methodology. Almost like buying commercial rental property.
Then along came the wave of amenity buyers over the last 30 years. That came with expansion of elk numbers, expansion of billionaires, the realization that Montana has yet to be chopped up like many other states, and a variety of other amenity realizations.
The Wilks Brothers are one of the largest buyers of anemity ranches in the area. They bought at prices people thought were crazy at the time, that turned out to be great investments on their part. Did we hear/read of them have a "significant impact on land prices in that area?" What about Jim Kennedy? What about Stan Kronke, Bruce Rauner, David Luschen, Ruper Murdoch, and other billionaires who have priced some of the multi-millionaires out of the mountain ranches of western Montana and forced these millionaire buyers to central and eastern Montana?
Fact is, the prices paid by APR, or Wilks, or Kronke, are willing buyer-willing seller transactions. Those transactions benefit the seller. I'm not aware of any instance where the seller is beholden to his neighbors or the general real estate market of Montana ranches, to accept a lower price for some altruistic reason. Good for the seller. Does that drive the market? Yes, such being the nature of how real estate gets appraised/sold.
For the folks who have worked their butts off for generations to hold on to these lands, and whose parents and grandparents before them, I am happy. Their kids see how much risk is involved in agricultural production and what limited upside exists. They don't want to "come back to the farm," leaving these working families few other options. I hope they get the best possible price for the generations of hard work to build these ranches.
I struggle to follow the logic that these families should not sell for the best possible price or that the buyers, whether billionaires or non-profits, are somehow the bad guys for wanting to acquire these properties. If we want to talk about how tax policy impacts some of this, I hope someone starts a thread on such, because many of the comments in this thread do not reflect current tax laws and tax policy.
There was a previous discussion on the sale to BLM. It seems selling to the APR eliminates a lot of the problems local county officials had with the previous sale. I'm sure they are fully on board now (sarcasm).
