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the county was for development into single family residential
lots. Both appraisers look to sales price data from sales of
comparable properties sold for residential development purposes
to determine the value of the land before conveyance of the
easement. Mr. Lipman is of the opinion that the comparison
should be made on both a “per acre” and “per raw lot” basis. He
reports, however: “Unfortunately, at least from the standpoint
of this appraisal, we do not have an engineer’s estimate of lot
yield for the subject property. Accordingly, we will depend
primarily on value from a per acre perspective.” Mr. Lipman is
of the opinion that the value of the land before conveyance of
the easement was $10,000 an acre (for a total value of $524,400).
Mr. Sapperstein did not think that a dollars-an-acre basis
was a proper basis for reaching a conclusion as to the value of
the land because, in his opinion:
Knowledgeable buyers of the subject property type, are
typically interested in the development potential of
the property, and are concerned with the property’s
yield. By determining the number of lots that can be
developed on the subject property, we remove from the
appraisal problem any subjectivity related to the
property’s physical characteristics (i.e., shape,
topography, wetlands, and other possible development
constraints). Thus, a comparison can be made on a
“value per lot” basis with the comparable sales,
requiring adjustment for location, site orientation,
and accessibility.
Mr. Sapperstein is of the opinion that the value of the land
before conveyance of the easement to the county was $45,000 a
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