Montana Land News

Land values in the rural west, especially in beautiful amenity-rich states like Montana, have been appreciating dramatically over many decades. Where the economic basis for land value used to be the income potential from farming or ranching, it is now based largely on recreational pursuits, aesthetics, development and investment potential. Land values have risen to the point that the purchase of...

The Montana Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that dinosaur fossils are surface rights and not minerals according to state law.  The issue arose when dinosaur fossils dubbed the "Dueling Dinosaurs" were discovered on a Montana ranch, and have turned out to be worth millions of dollars.  The mineral estate owners have sued the surface estate owners claiming ownership rights to the fossils. The case...

Max Hansen, long-time property exchange expert from Dillon, MT who is now a Managing Director for Accruit, has provided the following information on the IRS and Treasury extension of 1031 exchange deadlines:   "The big news in the exchange industry has been the issuance on April 9 of Notice 2020-23 by the IRS and Treasury which extended the 1031 exchange deadlines.  Following is a link to the...

Videos of the 2019 Montana Land Values Presentation are now available.  The 21th Annual Montana Land Values Presentation and luncheon was held on January 28, 2020 with a panel of three Accredited Rural Appraisers, including Andrew Rahn from Montana Land Source, and other industry experts reporting on 2019 land values and future trends for the rural Montana land market.  The event was jointly...

The Wall Street Journal has published an article on wealthy city dwellers who have been seeking refuge from coronavirus on remote western resorts and ranches.  The article focused primary on individuals who owned property in resorts and shared-amenity ranch communities prior to the pandemic, who have sought refuge on their remote properties during the crisis. There has been concern, with some...

Here at Montana Land Source, we have been receiving an increasing number of inquiries about what impacts the coronavirus may have on the Montana land market.  This crisis has created a great deal of overall uncertainty, which impacts many aspects of our lives, and the Montana farm and ranch land market is no exception.  There are multiple factors to consider. Anything that causes economic...

In 2019, www.MTLandSource.com saw a tremendous increase in visitor traffic, as the site transitioned from a pay-only site for industry professionals to a public website.  Montana Land Source has become the most comprehensive resource available for large-acreage Montana farm, ranch and recreational properties.  The top five most viewed properties on Montana Land Source in 2019 are shown below, and...

Andy Rahn from Montana Land Source will be a presenter at the 2020 Winter Thaw Conference in Billings, Montana on February 22, 2020 at the Northern Hotel.  Andy's presentation will be part of the Tips for Adding Profit to Your Ranch portion of the day-long event from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.  Andy's presentation is titled "Better Understanding of Land Values," and will focus on understanding land...

The Beartooth Ranch, formerly owned by film star Mel Gibson is back on the market.  The ranch totals 12,350 deeded acres and is listed by Hall & Hall for $29.8MM.  Gibson owned the ranch from 1988 to 2005, and then sold reportedly on a handshake to adjoining neighbor Kent Williams, who created Montana Silversmiths.  The ranch was a registered Angus producer under Gibson's ownership, but was...

The 1st Annual Winter Real Estate Roundup was a first-time collaboration between Montana rural land appraisers and land brokers to provide a high-quality off-season education and networking seminar for Montana's top rural real estate industry professionals.  The three-day event was held January 28 - 30  in Bozeman, and was a resounding success.   The seminar was jointly organized by the Montana...