A unit of land area equal to 43,560 square feet, or about 0.405 hectares. A US football field is roughly 1.3 acres.
Price per acre
The value of a parcel expressed for a single acre, found by dividing total value by acreage. It lets you compare parcels of different sizes. See current figures in the Price Per Acre Index and the county index.
Farm real estate value
The USDA measure of the value of agricultural land plus the buildings on it, reported per acre. It is the basis for most USDA per acre figures, including the ones in our land value report. Because it includes buildings and reflects local selling prices, it runs high near cities.
Cropland and pasture value
USDA reports cropland and pasture separately. Cropland, which can grow row crops, is worth more per acre than pasture, which is grazing land. Raw or recreational land usually sits below both.
Comparable sales (comps)
Recent sales of similar parcels near a property, used to estimate what it would sell for now. Comps, not a formula, are the basis of a real written cash offer. A per acre average is only a starting point.
Holding cost
The ongoing cost of owning vacant land while it sits unused, mainly property taxes and any dues or assessments. Our estimator shows the holding cost on a parcel.
Land and buildability
Raw or vacant land
Land with no house or structure on it. Raw land also has no utilities or improvements connected; a vacant lot may sit in a platted subdivision with utilities at the street.
Buildable lot
A parcel that meets the local rules to allow a structure: zoning, legal road access, available or installable utilities, and, where there is no public sewer, a passing perc test.
Perc test
A percolation test that measures how fast soil drains. It decides whether a septic system is allowed, which gates whether rural land can be built on where there is no sewer line.
Easement
A recorded right for someone else to use part of the land, such as a utility line or a neighbor's driveway access. Easements stay with the land when it sells and can limit how it is used.
Zoning
Local rules that set the allowed use of a parcel, such as residential, agricultural, or commercial, along with limits on density and lot size. Zoning is a major driver of value.
Ownership and closing
Mineral rights
Ownership of the minerals beneath the surface, such as oil, gas, or coal. They can be separated, or severed, from ownership of the surface and sold on their own. A land value estimate or surface offer does not include severed mineral rights unless stated.
Title and clear title
The legal record of who owns a property. A title search confirms there are no competing claims or unpaid liens. Clear title is what lets a sale close cleanly through a title company.
Escrow
An arrangement where a neutral third party, usually the title company, holds the buyer's funds and the deed until every condition is met, then pays the seller and records the deed. An owner is never asked to wire money to receive proceeds.
Warranty deed and quitclaim deed
Two instruments that transfer land. A warranty deed guarantees the seller holds clear title; a quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the seller actually has, with no guarantee.
Back taxes and liens
Unpaid property taxes and other recorded debts against a parcel. They become a lien that must be cleared for title to transfer, and are normally settled at closing out of the sale proceeds rather than out of the owner's pocket. See selling land with back taxes.
Closing costs
The fees to transfer and record a sale, including title work, recording, and settlement. On a direct sale to FrontierAcre, the closing runs through a licensed, independent title company that holds the funds and records the deed.
