Terra Firma Magazine | Summer 2019

MAKING THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS

SUMMER 2019 | VOL. 73 NO. 2

RLILAND.COM

WHERE A RE T HE OPPORT UNIT IES IN OPPORT UNIT Y ZONES?

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BLOCKCHA IN IN REA L ESTAT E

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CONCERNING CA NNA BIS

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G ROWING G REEN

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THE VOICE OF LAND Table of Contents

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Publisher Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE, Chief Executive Officer

Published by the REALTORS® Land Institute 430 North Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60611

Editorial Director and Contributing Author Jessa Friedrich, MBA, Marketing Manager Contributing Author Amanda Morrone, MSHC, Education Manager

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Summer 2019 Edition An Official Publication of the REALTORS® Land Institute

Phone: 1-800-441-5263 E-mail: rli@realtors.org Website: www.rliland.com

RLI News Brief From National RLI Membership News RLI Chapter News LANDU Education Update NLC19 Recap Where are the Opportunities in Opportunity Zones?

News and Notes From Inside the Beltway Blockchain in Real Estate Concerning Cannabis Growing Green: An Investor’s Guide New Data and Analysis for Land Brokerage Site Selection and Feasibility RPR Offers RLI REALTOR® Members Valuable Resources

Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Views expressed within the publication are not necessarily endorsed by the REALTORS® Land Institute and information should not be construed as recommendations for any course of action regarding financial, legal, or accounting matters.

SUMMER 2019

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NEWS BRIEF

News Brief From National A Message From RLI’s CEO As I write this, spring is (finally) starting to blossom around Chicago. The daffodils and tulips are blooming, there is a new crispness in the air, and everyone is looking forward to the sunshine and renewal that comes with spring.

However, Chicago spring takes a lot longer to bloom than a Southern spring, and this Memphis girl has been pining for warmer weather!

RLI has been going through its own transformation. As we have shared, we embarked on a new strategic plan in 2017. The five key areas we have focused on have been Membership (growing membership, member involvement, and member value); Education (improving our LANDU education curriculum and program); Branding (increasing our brand awareness, management, and equity); Chapter Development (providing resources to help our chapters be more successful); and Staff Development (providing staff development to make our staff the best of the best). We updated our mission and vision as well, but one thing RLI has never created or embraced are organizational values. Until now.

When our Executive Committee met with staff in December 2018, we tackled the hard task of defining what we want the REALTORS® Land Institute to stand for as an organization. In doing so, we prompted a new ‘spring’ for RLI and we are telling everyone, from our members to our industry partners, what they can expect when they interact with us. I am proud to announce the REALTORS® Land Institute’s Organizational Values:

Integrity We do the right thing in all situations, putting the best interest of our organization and membership above all else. We do what we say with the goal of earning trust and respect through keeping our word. Our stakeholders can be assured of RLI’s character, abilities, and viability through our actions. Together, our leadership, staff, and members create a transparent environment where trust flourishes.

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landowners. We are devoted to the land industry, to those we serve, and to the stewardship of the land.

Excellence We pursue the highest standards in everything we endeavor.

We aspire to consistently exceed the expectations of our membership. We provide a competitive advantage to our members by providing excellent service and resources that enhance the level of excellence our members can achieve.

Collaboration We create a competitive advantage in our members by the relationships and networking we foster. We continually work together with our members, our partners, and internally to achieve our mission and vision. We seek and value collective wisdom to create an environment that encourages camaraderie.

Expertise RLI and its members are the most knowledgeable resources in the industry on all matters pertaining to land real estate and the land market. We are committed to continuous learning and keeping up with industry trends to help us best serve our members so they can best serve their clients. We validate ourselves as The Voice of Land by our knowledge and expertise that we share with the industry.

Innovation We are forward thinking. We seek new opportunities and explore new ideas to be the best at bringing value to our members and the industry. We strive to create an environment where new ideas are actively encouraged and explored. We use innovation to adapt to the changing needs of the industry and our members.

As spring commences and the fruits of our labor continue to blossom, we are excited to continue pushing forward with our strategic plan in establishing RLI as The Voice of Land.

Commitment

Sincerely,

We are committed to and will do whatever it takes to achieve our vision of being The Voice of Land for land agents and

Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE Chief Executive Officer

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NEWS BRIEF

Meet Your RLI Staff Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE Chief Executive Officer 312-329-8837 | akobernus@realtors.org As the CEO, Aubrie is responsible for the overall management of RLI. This includes working together with the Board of Directors to develop and implement the vision, goals, objectives, and related policies for the organization. Within that framework, Aubrie organizes and directs the staff, programs, financial performance, and activities of the organization. In 2017, Aubrie achieved the REALTOR® Certified Executive Designation conferred by NAR. The RCE is the only professional designation specifically for REALTOR® association executives and she is currently the only commercial affiliate CEO to hold the designation. As the main contact for the ALC application process, members may contact her with questions about their ALC application or with any questions or concerns about RLI. Aubrie has been with RLI since March 2016.

Karen Calarco Operations Manager 312-329-8287 | kcalarco@realtors.org Karen manages RLI’s expenditures within the budget, oversees member records, and invoicing. Members may contact her for assistance changing their profile information, paying membership dues, and answering financial inquiries about their account. Karen has been with RLI since September 2007.

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Jessa Friedrich, MBA Marketing Manager 312-329-8353 | jfriedrich@realtors.org Jessa manages all aspects of RLI’s communications, branding, and marketing efforts; including for events, courses, the designation, and the organization as a whole. She also serves as the staff liaison for the Future Leaders Committee. Members may contact her with any member or chapter news, for contributing to Terra Firma magazine or the RLI Blog, or with questions about logo use. Jessa has been with RLI since March 2015.

Amanda Morrone, MSHC Education Manager 312-329-8441 | amorrone@realtors.org As the Education Manager, Amanda oversees all matters pertaining to RLI’s LANDU Education Program. She is responsible for scheduling courses and webinars as well as managing instructor relationships. She also serves as the staff liaison for the Education Committee. Members may contact her with any questions about the LANDU Education Program. Amanda has been with RLI since March 2019.

NEWS BRIEF

RLI Receives 75th Anniversary Congratulatory Letter From United States President Donald Trump The REALTORS® Land Institute proudly received a congratulatory letter from United States President Donald Trump on May 3. The letter arrived just in time to be showcased at the RLI Leadership & Member Meeting during the REALTORS® Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo in Washington, DC.

President Trump sent a Presidential message to RLI members, thanking them for being “…instrumental in helping to ensure the prosperity of our local communities and our country for all generations.”

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NEWS BRIEF

RLI Leadership in Washington, DC REALTORS® Land Institute leadership attended the REALTOR® Legislative Meetings and Trade Expo in Washington, DC, from May 13-18. Check out these key highlights from the event to see RLI’s presence and impact while at the event: • The morning of Tuesday, May 14, RLI hosted its RLI Leadership and Member Meeting where Russell Riggs, RLI’s Legislative Liaison to the National Association of REALTORS®, gave an update on the latest legislative issues affecting the land industry and Aubrie gave an update about the RLI 2017-2020 Strategic Plan.

• RLI Leadership again attended the NAR Commercial Reception in the evening on Thursday, May 16 to make sure our organization’s presence was felt.

• While in town, RLI 2018-19 National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC, and RLI CEO Aubrie Kobernus visited the Capitol to thank Senator Cotton (R-AR) for sponsoring SR 115 which congratulates RLI on its 75th Anniversary this year!

• Finally, on Friday, May 17, RLI 2016 National President Bob Turner, ALC, was invited to the stage by US President Donald Trump to speak on Opportunity Zones. Turner is considered the REALTOR® expert on the topic. President Trump started off his speech discussing how his policies have helped strengthen private property rights in the land industry. He came back to discussing land-related issues various times throughout the speech to his audience of REALTORS®, referencing the positive impacts of his administration’s polices being implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency, the benefits landowners may see from the recent tariff policies, and more.

Land Markets Survey Available The REALTORS® Land Institute and National Association of REALTORS® Research Group released the results of their annual Land Markets Survey. The 2018 Land Markets Survey showed sustainable growth in both national land sales and land prices. Survey respondents reported a two percent year-over-year increase in land sales and a two percent increase in land prices between the October 2017 and September 2018 period being measured.

RLI’s annual Land Markets Survey is a tool for landowners and land real estate professionals in all sectors of the business to use for bench-marking and as an informational resource when conducting business. This year marks the sixth consecutive year that the survey has been conducted to reveal current trends and the ever-changing state of land markets within the industry; and this year’s survey had the highest participation rate ever. We will be opening the survey again in October 2019 and encourage all land professionals to participate to ensure that the information in the final report is as accurate and valuable as possible.

SUMMER 2019

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NEWS BRIEF

ALC Designation Requirements Updates

2019 ALC Networking Retreat: The Best in the Business RLI is excited to be bringing back the ALC Networking Retreat event. All ALCs are encouraged to join us in Charleston, SC, from July 26-28 for a few days of educational and networking sessions that will allow attendees to build relationships with fellow ALCs from across the country. From a networking reception the first night to expert speakers and a tour of Charleston’s most unique spots, this event is designed to foster professional development, camaraderie, and future deal making.

The event will kick off with a leadership speech by US Navy SEAL Officer and Commander Captain Geno Paluso, a highly decorated captain who has held leadership roles commanding special operations forces around the globe.

Next, attendees will network and build relationships as they tour Charleston’s most unique spots, including: the Charleston Tea Plantation, the Deep Water Vineyard, the Firefly Distillery, and the Angel Oak Tree. Finally, the event will wrap-up with business development speaker Bret Pinson in an interactive half-day session that will help ALCs learn to strategically approach meeting their business goals. We hope to see all of our elite ALCs there! To learn more about this event, please visit our website at rliland.com

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At their March meeting, the RLI Board of Directors approved to expand the definition of land under the Volume Requirements for the Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) Designation to the below: The value of the land, including improvements that are agricultural in nature, must account for at least 51% of the total sale of the transaction in order for the transaction to be eligible.

Agricultural improvements include, but are not limited to, barns, livestock operations, equine facilities, etc.

Additionally, they approved a refined version of the Recommendations Requirement to require at least two letters of recommendation from current ALCs, one of which must be from an ALC within the applicant’s local market.

To learn more about the requirements towards earning the ALC Designation, visit our website at rliland.com

NEWS BRIEF

RLI 2019 Committee Updates ALC Designation Committee The RLI 2019 ALC Designation Committee has been very active, reviewing over 20 applications so far in 2019 and approving 18 applicants for the esteemed ALC Designation. The committee is constantly reviewing the ALC Designation criteria and application to ensure that the application process is easy to follow while also maintaining the high standards and professionalism that is expected of such a high-caliber designation. ALC applicants are encouraged to check the RLI website for updated rules and applications before they submit their final portfolio for review.

Future Leaders Committee Education Committee The RLI 2019 Education Committee is working hard this year on identifying meaningful and relevant topics to showcase throughout the RLI Hot Topic Webinar series. A snapshot of a few webinar topics include: the 2018 Farm Bill, Hemp and Industrial Cannabis, and Opportunity Zones.

The committee has also been busy conducting interviews to approve new instructors for our LANDU Education Program. The applying instructor virtually presents an introduction and a course module to a panel comprised of committee members. The panel approves the instructor based on their evaluation of the applicant’s presentation and communication skills, knowledge of the content, and professionalism.

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The RLI 2019 Future Leaders Committee is busy implementing their content initiative. The initiative is designed to help further position RLI as The Voice of Land in the industry by providing relevant articles, videos, and resources to land professionals. This content also helps drive more organic traffic to the website and helps to grow our social media channels through driving engagement.

In addition to creating content, the committee is also working to create a New Agent Tool Kit as a resource for land professionals just getting started in the industry. The kit will include sample scripts, profit and loss templates, and informational articles. It will also promote the value of earning the elite ALC Designation and guidance on working towards it.

Government Affairs Committee The RLI 2019 Government Affairs Committee has been working to obtain legislative recognition of RLI’s 75th Anniversary. In addition, they have been monitoring numerous federal issues such as the WOTUS proposed rule, extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, the rule on 20% pass through income, and discussions on infrastructure.

NEWS BRIEF

Top Social Posts The best in the business follow RLI on their social media pages for the latest updates and educational blog posts relevant to the industry. Stay at the top of your game by following RLI on social and further positioning yourself as a land expert by sharing our posts.

Top Facebook Post Follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/RLILand Date Posted: 2/1/2019 Post Title: China to Increase Soy Bean Purchases Post Content: After two days of trade talks, China has announced plans to increase their purchase of American soybeans and other products.

Top Instagram Post Follow us on Instagram at realtors_land_institute Date Posted: 12/13/2018 Post Title: Environmental Protection Agency and Army Propose a New Definition of WOTUS Post Content: After passing both the House and Senate, the Farm Bill (also known as the Agriculture Improvement Act), is headed towards President Trump’s desk for his final seal of approval. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the House, passing by 369-47, after being passed by the Senate on Tuesday. See more legislative updates affecting the land industry on rliland.com.

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Top RLI Blog Post Date Posted: 3/22/2019 Post Title: How and Why to Invest in Farmland Post Author: Clayton Pilgrim, ALC Post Content: Many technological changes have impacted the farming industry, from the invention of the plow to more modern advances, such as GPS technology, irrigation, and droughttolerant seed varieties. Many facets have changed but one has not, the dirt. Investing in land is a simple process of purchasing property and creating value through revenue, appreciation, or tax benefits.

NEWS BRIEF

Top LinkedIn Post Follow us on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/realtorsland-institute

Top Twitter Post

Date Posted: 3/1/2019

Follow us on Twitter at @rliland

Post Content: RLI staff is ready and excited to welcome the top land professionals in the business to the 2019 National Land Conference! See you soon! #NLC19.

Date Posted: 3/6/2019 Post Title: RLI Land Markets Survey Post Content: Russell Riggs, RLI’s legislative liaison to @nardotrealtor, is giving land agents an update on the National Flood Insurance Program, WOTUS, the Endangered Species Act, and other legislative issues impacting landowners and land professionals at #NLC19!

SUMMER 2019

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NEWS BRIEF

Four Most Expensive Properties on the Land Connections

2 La Bandera Ranch | $54,038,785 | 18,043 Acres |

Carrizo Springs, TX

The Land Connections is the official member’s only listing site of the REALTORS® Land Institute. The page has a robust mapping feature which makes searching for properties on-the-go easier than ever. With over 14,000 prime property listings from the best in the business land professionals, this is the place to find and post properties. RLI members are able to post listings to this page at no cost as a member benefit thanks to our partners at Lands of America and LandBrokerWebsites.com To add your properties, please contact RLI at 800-441-5263.

Thank you to Lands of America for providing the information for our top properties. Learn more about these properties and others on the Land Connections at rliland.com/the-land-connections 1 Alico East Ranch | $83,518,500 | 25,698 Acres |

Clewiston, FL

Listing Agent: Joey Bellington For nearly two decades, La Bandera Ranch has developed the reputation of being one of the most famed hunting destinations in Texas. This iconic ranch, and the reputation that goes along with it, has been earned over the years by the passion and dedicated efforts of the owner to develop and manage the land and the wildlife to the highest degree in order to offer clients and guests the hunting experience of a lifetime. From the superior and expansive first-class accommodations all the way to the distinguished whitetail, quail, and dove hunting experiences that the ranch has to offer, La Bandera Ranch stands above the rest.

Listing Agent: Dean Saunders, ALC, CCIM Never before on the market, the Alico East Ranch consists of approximately 25,690 acres in Hendry County, Florida. This south central Florida ranch is comprised of a mix of improved, semi-improved and native pastures for cattle ranching or leases, hunting leases or agricultural use. The surrounding area is predominately used for ranching, vegetable farming, sugarcane and citrus production. This property has been used for ranching and farming for many decades. The ranch is easily divisible and is currently offered as a whole or in six separate tracts ranging from 1,265 acres to 8,586 acres. The property has about 20,964 acres of uplands and 4,275 acres of wetlands.

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NEWS BRIEF

3 Montgomery County Transition | $50,104,665 |

6,267 Acres | Conroe, TX

Listing Agent: Andy Flack, ALC Montgomery County Transition first-time open market offering.

Large tract in the heart of Houston metro expansion/ development and Montgomery County, TX. Halfway between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69 (US 59). North of FM 242, Northeast of The Woodlands, TX, Southeast of Conroe, TX. Transition forestry property with big frontage and multiple points of access. Managed timberland in excellent condition with ongoing management practices. Located in the Conroe ISD and Splendora ISD within a few minutes of schools. Residual out tracts scattered throughout.

4 Bluffs of St. Teresa | $50,000,000 | 17,080 Acres |

Saint Teresa, FL

Listing Agent: Dean Saunders, ALC, CCIM Situated among rolling hills along the scenic shore of the Gulf of Mexico, the Bluffs of Saint Teresa is over 17,000 acres of magnificent land with characteristics that are truly unique. There is nothing like it in Florida or on the Northern Gulf coast today.

The Bluffs of St. Teresa represents what early Florida visitors called paradise and, for a savvy land buyer, offers a rare opportunity to invest in it. Florida’s allure, from its early days to the present, begins with three fundamental traits that set it apart from every other state: our abundant sunshine, yearround beautiful weather, and easy access to water. While these qualities are in ample supply at the Bluffs of St. Teresa, they are just the beginning of its story.

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RLI MEMBERSHIP NEWS

RLI Membership News

Congratulations New ALCs! William T. Adams, ALC Adams REALTORS® Atlanta, GA

Matt Armstrong, ALC Chisum Realty & Auction Paris, TX

Joe Blackburn, ALC Tutt Land Company New Brockton, AL

Dale Burley, ALC Whitetail Properties Real Estate Fitzgerald, GA

Joseph Burns, ALC Lone Eagle Land Brokerage, Inc. Montrose, CO

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Matthew Conser, ALC Conser Realty & Associates Albany, OR

Tim Hadley, ALC KW Land Gladstone, MO

Eric Frickle, ALC Eric Conrad Frickle Commercial Realty Corona, CA

Walter Hatchett, ALC Jon Kohler & Associates LLC Bainbridge, GA

Chipper Gibbes, ALC Whitetail Properties Real Estate McComb, MS

Travis Heman, ALC Whitetail Properties Real Estate Napoleon, MO

Bill Davis, ALC Keller Williams Foothills Realty Evergreen, CO

Don Honeycutt, ALC Longhorn Realty, LLC Liberty Hill, TX

Greg Ganzkow, ALC Coldwell Banker Select Land Group Bixby, OK

Geoff Hurdle, ALC Hurdle Land & Realty Lebanon, TN

RLI MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Larry W. Jackson, ALC Larry W. Jackson, Inc. Marlin, TX

Karen McCartin Foster, ALC Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices Parks & Weisberg REALTORS® Jeffersonville, IN

Michael Murphy, ALC M4 Ranch Group a division of Team Murphy Realty, LLC Lake City, CO

Lisa Johnson, ALC Horsepower Real Estate Junction City, OR

Clay McCullar, ALC Keller Williams Realty Abilene Abilene, TX

Justin Osborn, ALC The Wells Group Real Estate Brokerage Durango, CO

Thomas Krajewski, ALC National Land Realty Knoxville, TN

Jeff Moon, ALC AgWest Land Brokers Holdrege, NE

Clayton Pilgrim, ALC Century 21 Harvey Properties Paris, TX

Eric Leisy, ALC Great Southern Land, L.L.C. Wetumpka, AL

John Morris, ALC Southeastern Land Group Birmingham, AL

Kenny Schum, ALC MWA, LLC Champaign, IL

Brent Lyday, ALC Coldwell Banker VanMeter Realty Durant, OK

Dan Murphy, ALC M4 Ranch Group a division of Team Murphy Realty, LLC Lake City, CO

Tyler Sellens, ALC Whitetail Properties Real Estate Hamilton, IL

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RLI MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Sherman Shanklin, ALC RE/MAX of Green Country Nowata, OK

Luke Wallace, ALC Whitetail Properties Real Estate Lincoln, NE

Jake Steven, ALC J.P. Weigand & Sons, Inc. Wichita, KS

David Whitaker, ALC Whitaker Marketing Group – Auctions & Real Estate Ames, IA

J. Michael Strahan, ALC Eshenbaugh Land Company Tampa, FL

James Wirth, ALC TRI Commercial Roseville, CA

Raborn Taylor, ALC George F. Willis, Realty Cartersville, GA

Jay Ziv, ALC Avison Young Miami, FL

Lar Voss, ALC Western Land And Water, LLC Johnstown, CO

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RLI Member News Christina Asbury, ALC, with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage in Sneads Ferry, NC, was named REALTOR® of the Year by the Jacksonville Board of ® REALTORS . Christina was also named chairperson for the North Carolina Professional Standards Committee.

Catherine Cole, ALC, of Heritage Texas Country Properties in Brenham, TX, was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Lifetime Achiever in the field of Real Estate.

With over twenty-five years of experience, Catherine is well regarded for her outstanding contributions to the field of real estate.

John Dean, ALC, with Dean Land & Realty Company in Leland, MS, has established an endowed agricultural real estate professorship through the Mississippi State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

With a bequest in his will, he creates the John M. Dean Jr. Endowed Professorship in Agricultural Real Estate.

RLI MEMBERSHIP NEWS

Dean Saunders, ALC, with Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate in Lakeland, FL, received a Central Florida Commercial Association of REALTORS® Hallmark Overall Top Producer Award and received First Place in the Top Producer Land category. He was also named the Top County Producer for Osceola and Volusia Counties.

Danny Smith, ALC, with Smith & Smith Realty in Wildwood, FL, received a Central Florida Commercial Association of REALTORS® Hallmark Top Producer Award coming in Third Place in the Land category. He was also named the Top County Producer for Sumter County.

Jeramy Stephens, ALC, 2018-19 RLI National President, with National Land Realty in Little Rock, AR, received the esteemed National Association of REALTORS® Omega Tau Rho award. He was presented the award by the Arkansas Association of REALTORS® for exemplary dedication and service, and the high esteem in which recipients are held by fellow members of the REALTOR® organization. Once a medallion is awarded, the recipient is a member for life.

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RLI CHAPTER NEWS

RLI Chapter News RLI Chapter News The REALTORS® Land Institute enjoys strong and active chapter programs because of the superior commitment and dedication of each chapter’s volunteers. RLI chapters routinely sponsor LANDU courses and host an array of professional development programs and special events. Active members of RLI can elect to join one or more chapter organizations. Thank you to our dedicated chapter leaders and administrators who bring so much value to our members at the local level and serve as our boots on the ground in spreading the word about the value of RLI.

RLI Arkansas Chapter The RLI Arkansas Chapter recently held a networking event on May 7 in Little Rock, AR, at the State REALTOR® Association Building. The Let’s Make Deal$ property marketing session proved to be a success as 25 attendees presented their rural land listings in hopes of connecting with potential buyers.

Lunch was provided by Lile Real Estate of Little Rock.

On October 24-25, the chapter is tentatively planning to host the newly updated two-day Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage LANDU course in Northwest Arkansas. They are excited to welcome Ben Crosby, ALC, back to the state of Arkansas as the instructor for the course.

RLI Alabama, Florida, and Georgia Chapter Tri-State Meeting From April 25-26 the RLI Alabama, Florida, and Georgia chapters held a tri-state education and networking event for land professionals. The event was held at the George T. Bagby State Park & Lodge in Fort Gaines, GA. The education session was held in two half-day classes. The first educational session was on Deeds, Conveyances, and Boundaries and the second one was about Title Insurance and Boundary Surveys. Jeff Lucas, PLS, Esq., was the presenter for the short courses. The event was a huge success with over 60 land professionals attending, including 2018-19 RLI National President Jeramy Stephens, ALC. A special thanks goes out to the event’s gold level sponsors: Alabama Ag Credit, Farm Credit of Florida, South Farm Credit, Land Broker Co-Op, and Farm Credit Associations of Georgia. In addition, a special thank you to Alabama REALTORS® Association for being the course sponsor and securing the event location.

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RLI Carolinas Chapter The RLI Carolinas Chapter is well and continuing to flourish! Trey Allen, ALC, as 2019 Chapter President, and RLI member Johnny McAllister, ALC, are working closely with RLI staff on the upcoming ALC Networking Retreat in Charleston, SC, from July 26-28. They are planning to host the Land 101: Fundamentals of Land Brokerage LANDU course for CE credit alongside the ALC Networking Retreat. Chapter Past President, Lou Jewel, ALC, recently instructed his Introduction to Land Brokerage course for CE credit in Winston Salem, NC, where he promoted the value of joining RLI. Finally, Don Bell was recently chosen as Chapter President-Elect for the upcoming year.

RLI CHAPTER NEWS

RLI Colorado Chapter

RLI Illinois Chapter

The RLI Colorado Chapter had a very busy month of June. The chapter was pleased to have LANDU Education Week take place in Denver and to co-host the networking cocktail reception on Tuesday evening, June 4.

The RLI Illinois Chapter is excited to announce the Mac Boyd, ALC, Scholarship. This $500 LANDU scholarship opportunity honors Mac Boyd, ALC, and is available to those chapter members who meet the criteria. Scholarships will be awarded at the annual chapter meeting in September. More information can be found by calling 309-579-2947 or at rliillinois.org

Two weeks later, chapter members took part in the RLI Colorado Chapter / Open Fences ‘Ranch and Land Tour’ in beautiful Lake City, CO, hosted by Dan Murphy, ALC, and Michael Murphy, ALC, of M4 Ranch Group.

The ranch tour started off with a Mexican Fiesta Night at Gateway Ranch on Lake Fork where entertainment was provided for attendees. Thursday began with a hearty breakfast, ranch tours, lunch, more tours, and dinner at their last stop of the day. Friday morning was similar only the agenda was cut short so they could all depart for their different horizons. The chapter thanks their hosts and sponsors for a valuable (and awesome) event for the land professionals in attendance!

The chapter would also like to congratulate two of its members: Luke Worrell, ALC, 2019 RLI Illinois Chapter President, for being honored with RLI’s national 2018 Rising Star Award; and Ray Brownfield, ALC, RLI 2012 National Past President, for being awarded RLI’s national 2018 APEX Broker of the Year Award in the Ag Land Sales – Crops category.

RLI Florida Chapter The RLI Florida Chapter, along with some other real estate associations in Southwest Florida, sponsored the Florida Gulf Coast University Construction Management & Real Estate Program's Day at the Ballpark meet and greet to help promote their new construction management school. For more information about the RLI Florida Chapter, visit rlifl.com

RLI Iowa Chapter On March 13, the RLI Iowa Chapter held its spring seminar in conjunction with the ASFMRA Iowa Chapter. Nearly 100 people attended the one-day training event. Topics included Automated Farming/Robotics, 2019 Agricultural Economy Outlook, RLI Iowa Spring Land Trend and Values Survey, Climate and Weather in Iowa, The Business Side of Organic Farming, and Hops and Hemp—Alternative Crops.

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RLI CHAPTER NEWS

The chapter also held its annual dinner and cowboy auction that night. The following awards were presented to members: Steve Bruere - Volume and Acres Sold for the Year; Steve Bruere and Kyle Hansen, ALC - Deal of the Year; Ryan Kay Rising Star; Roger Johnson- Longtime Dedication to RLI; and Jared Chambers – Good Neighbor of the Year. Pictured is Riley Siren and Iowa member Dick Meade helping lead their cowboy auction which raised over $1,600.

2018 Strategic Plan – or objectives within that plan to concentrate on, generation of revenue, scheduling a national LANDU course to offer before the chapter’s annual conference in August, and seeking out partnership opportunities. The chapter plans to host its annual conference the first week in August. They are also excited to announce that they recently released their new RLI-branded chapter website at rliminnesotachapter.com

RLI Kansas Chapter On April 24, the RLI Kansas Chapter met for a marketing / educational meeting. Their hosts, American AgCredit, gave a general economic outlook. Patrick McBride, of Drone-On-Demand, presented Drones in Real Estate, a threehour Kansas CE course. Patrick did a great job of explaining why it is extremely important to either get the FAA Part 107 Drone Pilot certification or to instead hire someone, for the protection of both the agent and their client. The meeting also covered various land issues from different areas of the state, and several properties were marketed to those in attendance.

On April 25, several members attended a tour of the Great Plains Manufacturing Company. The guide did a wonderful job of explaining who Great Plains is and what all the agricultural parts are that they manufacture during the 90-minute tour of the facility.

RLI Oklahoma Chapter The RLI Oklahoma Chapter congratulates the recipients of the following 2018 Chapter Awards: Top Hand – Rod Canterbury; Largest chapter RLI-to-RLI Transaction – Clay Baxter and Rod Canterbury; Largest RLI-toRLI Transaction – Zurick Labrier, ALC, and an out of state member; and the Oklahoma Land Broker of the Year – Ricky Ward, ALC. The recipients were recognized at the Chapter’s May 9 meeting and class, Industrial Hemp – Impacts to Real Estate. The class was taught by Kirk Goble, ALC, and was very well received by the over 50 land professionals in attendance. Sara Wallace from the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Consumer Protection Services also joined the chapter and gave the audience pertinent information about the application process, costs, planting, testing, processors, reporting, and much more.

RLI Minnesota Chapter The RLI Minnesota Chapter held its quarterly conference call on April 23 with just under half of their members on the call. The newly-created MN Chapter Board of Directors held its first meeting April 24 with a long to-do list that included discussion about the sustainability of the chapter, possible adoption of the

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RLI CHAPTER NEWS The chapter will host its first Annual Texas RLI Conference on October 3-4 at the Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth, TX. They also hosted the newly updated Land Investment Analysis LANDU course in May and are planning to host the newly updated Transitional Land Real Estate LANDU course in October. For more information about the first Annual Texas RLI Conference and upcoming courses, visit rlitexaschapter.com

RLI Tennessee Chapter The RLI Tennessee Chapter held their March meeting in conjunction with the 2019 Tennessee Excel Summit (TNEX) on March 19 in Cool Springs, TN. Several prospective new members attended and most of them have reached out asking how to join! The chapter was also excited to have several members attend the tri-state meeting from April 25-26 at Bagby State Park in Ft. Gaines, GA, hosted by the RLI Alabama, Florida, and Georgia chapters. Several RLI Tennessee Chapter members rode down together for the fellowship and the six hours of CE made available!

Pictured are the chapter members that attended NLC19: Todd Henon, ALC; Wes Binkley; Bob Turner, ALC; RLI CEO and native-Tennessean Aubrie Kobernus; National President, Jeramy Stephens, ALC; and Chapter President Geoff Hurdle, ALC. The chapter also congratulates Geoff Hurdle, ALC, on receiving the RLI 2018 APEX Wrangler Award in March for largest number of transaction sides in 2018.

RLI Virginia Chapter The RLI Virginia Chapter has grown to over 32 active members, including 19 of which who have earned the elite Accredited Land Consultant Designation. The chapter is looking to continue growing its membership in 2019. If you are interested in getting more involved in the RLI Virginia Chapter, please contact the chapter directly.

RLI Wyoming Chapter

RLI Texas Chapter The RLI Texas Chapter was named the 2018 Outstanding Chapter of the Year during the National Land Conference in Albuquerque, NM, last March. The chapter also hosted a reception during the 29th Annual Outlook Conference back in April in San Antonio, TX. The conference provides information on a variety of legal, economic, social, and natural resources issues influencing land markets.

On April 11, Blair Newman, ALC; Craig Wetterlund, ALC; Chia Valdez-Schwartz; and Ivan Judd, ALC, represented the RLI Wyoming Chapter by attending the third Wyoming Agriculture Diversification Summit, Focus HEMP, in Casper, WY. The industry was represented by more than 20 panelists from across the country and Canada, discussing education, history, development, finance, markets, and investment in preparation of the state’s fledgling industry.

With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill and HB 171 during the 65th Wyoming Legislature, legalization of hemp in the state is changing. The Wyoming Department of Ag (WDA) had 30 days to develop and submit a plan to the USDA requesting delegated authority for hemp regulation in Wyoming. Doug Miyamoto, Director of the WDA, reported that the state plan was submitted to the USDA for approval on April 4. The USDA indicated that a review of the plans will take place in the fall of this year.

After all the numbers were in, NLC19 proved to be the second-largest National SUMMER 2019

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L A N D U E D U C AT I O N U P D AT E

LANDU Education Update New LANDU Education Instructors Congratulations to Justin Osborn, ALC, and Mark Skillman, ALC, for being newly approved LANDU Education Program instructors!

An Update on the LANDU Program We are happy to announce that all of our courses, except the Agricultural Land Brokerage and Marketing course, are now updated as part of our 2017-2020 Strategic Plan. Now that the new 2018 Farm Bill is finalized, we can begin updating the course and anticipate this course update to be completed by Fall 2019.

New to the RLI curriculum is the Recreational Land Real Estate course which is worth 16 ALC Credit Hours. This course is now available for chapters to host and was put on for the first time at the 2019 LANDU Education Week in June.

A new instructor approval and training process is now in place. New instructor applications are currently being accepted for review and approval for the RLI courses. The Education Committee is working hard on this process; they have so far interviewed and approved two new instructors.

Justin Osborn, ALC, with The Wells Group Real Estate Brokerage in Durango, CO, is now an approved LANDU Instructor for the new Recreational Land Real Estate course. Justin has been a licensed REALTOR® for 17 years, he is licensed in both Colorado and New Mexico. His real estate experience and having a family hunting ranch in west Texas have helped shape his experience towards becoming the instructor for the newly formed RLI Recreational Land Real Estate course. Justin is actively involved in both his community and his church as a mentor, coach, educator, instructor, and counselor. He is passionate about helping youth and young men find their highest potential.

Mark Skillman, ALC, who serves as the principal broker for American Forest Management in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, is now an approved LANDU instructor for the newly updated Timberland Real Estate course. Over his over 30-year career in real estate, Mark co-founded and managed a private real estate brokerage and investment business, was a successful timber and ranch land investor, and has owned his SUMMER 2019

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L A N D U E D U C AT I O N U P D AT E

own multifamily development and construction company. For the past decade, he has worked in the forest investment community as a real estate manager and broker with responsibility for corporate business development and oversight of the land sales program for both retail and portfolio-level timberland dispositions throughout the Pacific Northwest region.

Mark holds an undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University in International Business Relations and has completed graduate courses in real estate from New York University.

Interested in Becoming An Instructor?

RLI is currently accepting instructor applications for teaching in both the traditional classroom and virtual instructor led training (VILT) format. LANDU instructors are ambassadors for the REALTORS® Land Institute, the LANDU Education Program, and the overall land real estate industry. They are experts in their field, dedicating time and energy to helping others become the best of the best.

Eligibility application criteria to serve as an instructor has been established as meeting all of the following general minimum requirements: • Currently hold the ALC Designation; another NAR Commercial affiliate designation; or be considered a subject matter expert on a particular topic. If an ALC Designee or NAR Commercial affiliate designee, instructor must be a member in good standing of their respective organization.

• Be an active land or commercial real estate practitioner or be involved with land/commercial real estate in some professional capacity (i.e. technology, lawyer, accountant, construction, etc.).

• Have experience in instructing or lecturing adult professionals, whether at a college, a professional program, or as a panel member or speaker at a symposium, seminar, lecture or convention.

• Be proficient in the use of technological presentation tools such as webinar platforms and Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel, and Word, etc.

Interested applicants may contact Amanda Morrone, Education Manager, at amorrone@realtors.org or 312-329-8441 with questions or to submit an application.

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2019 LANDU Education Week It was another record setting year for LANDU Education Week! We had a total of 48 participants from 15 states and Canada for a total of 202 course registrations. The courses were held at the University of Denver in Denver, CO, from June 2-10.

A special thank you is extended to the Land Broker Co-op, Mason & Morse Ranch, and the RLI Colorado Chapter for their support in helping to bring this educational opportunity to Colorado. Also, a special thank you to Bart Miller, ALC, for going above and beyond with his support of the meeting logistics.

Finally, thank you to the RLI Colorado Chapter Administrator Maggie Thomas for her help in obtaining CE Credit approval in the State of Colorado!

L A N D U E D U C AT I O N U P D AT E

We are excited to announce that we also had another record year of attendees – 24 in total – who completed all six courses towards earning the elite ALC Designation! We are proud to congratulate the below attendees on this accomplishment: • Arica Andreatta

• Christopher Fox

• Blaine Bickelhaupt

• Mark Grant

• Robert Boe

• Russell Hickey

• Nicholas Cain

• DeAnne Hodge

• Douglas Candler

• Jennifer Janet

• Cynthia Castleberry

• Todd Kittel

• Tom Curé

• Pete Loew

• Lonnie Daniels

• Scot Oliver

• Michelle Dolan-Rushing

• Jason Rossi

• Nancy Erni

• Andrew Schultz

• Dean Eshelman

• Paula Stueve

• Reza Esmaeili

• Ronald Van Pelt

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2 0 1 9 N AT I O N A L L A N D C O N F E R E N C E ( N L C 1 9 ) R E C A P

2019 National Land Conference (NLC19) Recap NLC19 was the second largest National Land Conference in RLI History! With 336 people in attendance at the event, there was no shortage of opportunities to gain expertise and network with the best in the business. We are also excited to announce our APEX Awards Program doubled in size with 100 applicants and over $2.3B in qualifying transaction volume submitted in its second year.

We want to give a BIG thank you to all our attendees, partners, and speakers that made this event such a huge success! We hope to see you all in San Antonio, TX, from March 29-April 1 for NLC20!

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NLC19 RECAP

NLC19 BY THE NUMBERS 336 Total Attendees 207 Land Professional Attendees 29 Partner Companies in the Exhibit Hall 14 Expert Speakers $38,871 raised at the Cowboy Auction

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NLC19 RECAP

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LEF Thanks You, Cowboy Auction Donors!

• Tim Kellogg

• David Pope

We are so excited to announce that the NLC19 Cowboy Auction raised $38,871 for the Land Education Foundation (LEF), a major supporter of RLI’s LANDU Education Program.

We want to give a big thank you to the following auction winners for supporting LEF:

• Joel King, ALC

• Deitra Robertson, ALC

• Mark Knight, ALC

• Brian Rose

• Ray L. Brownfield, ALC

• Flo Sayre, ALC

• Zurick Labrier, ALC

• Danny Smith, ALC

• Jason Lestina

• Sheldon Snyder, ALC

• Karin Adams

• Gregory Fine

• Rusty Lowe, ALC

• Jeramy Stephens, ALC

• Trey Allen

• Clint Flowers, ALC

• Michael Matre, ALC

• Winnie Stortzum, ALC

• Drew Ary, ALC

• Tommy Funk • Ted Glaub, ALC

• Karen McCartin Foster, ALC

• Kirk Swenson

• Christina Asbury, ALC • Paul Bottari, ALC

• Mark Goodwin, ALC

• Tyler McConnell, ALC

• Cassie Thomas

• Joseph Burns, ALC

• Glenda Hall

• Clay McCullar, ALC

• Maggie Thomas

• Steve Butler

• Kyle Hansen, ALC

• Caleb McDow, ALC

• Craig Townsend

• George Clift, ALC

• Renee Harvey, ALC

• Brian Meece, ALC

• Bob Turner, ALC

• Catherine Cole, ALC

• Walter Hatchett, ALC

• Joe Michaletz

• Jim Vidamour, ALC

• Matthew Conser, ALC

• Dan Hatfield, ALC

• Kasey Mock

• Craig Wetterlund, ALC

• Mindy Costanzo

• Liz Hertz

• Daniel Murphy, ALC

• Tucker Wood

• Ben Crosby, ALC

• Jan Hope

• Robb Nelson

• Luke Worrell, ALC

• Matt Davis

• Lisa Johnson, ALC

• Rod Osterloh, ALC

• Bill Davis, ALC

• Ivan Judd, ALC

• Lorie Pastore

• John Dean, ALC

• Patrick Karst, ALC

• Clayton Pilgrim, ALC

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• Minor Taylor, ALC

NLC19 RECAP

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NLC19 RECAP

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NLC19 RECAP

2018 RLI Leadership Award Winners Six RLI members received awards through the esteemed REALTORS® Land Institute Leadership Awards Program at NLC19. All award recipients are nominated and selected by their peers based on their accomplishments and dedication to the industry.

Robert C. Meeks, ALC, Distinguished Service Award

Excellence in Instruction Award Jim Miller, Esq., with Investment Property Exchange Services, Inc. (IPX1031) in Chandler, AZ, received the 2018 Excellence in Instruction Award. The Excellence in Instruction Award recognizes RLI’s Land University (LANDU) instructors for their exceptional teaching skills, contributions to the professional development of our students, and volunteerism for the LANDU Education Program.

Bob Turner, ALC, with Southern Properties in Cordova, TN, received the 2018 Robert C. Meeks, ALC, Distinguished Service Award. In honor of dedicated, long-time Accredited Land Consultant Robert C. Meeks, the Distinguished Service Award is presented to an ALC in recognition of their long-term commitment and service to fellow members, the land profession, and the community.

Chapter of the Year Award

Land REALTOR® of America Award

The RLI Texas Chapter was awarded with the 2018 RLI Chapter of the Year Award. The Outstanding Chapter Award recognizes one RLI Chapter that has demonstrated excellence and creativity in the following categories: member retention and development, course and other educational offerings, volunteerism to national RLI, technological achievements, and outreach and collaboration with other RLI chapters as well as NAR local and state organizations.

Bill Burruss, ALC, with William H. Burruss III, Inc. in Lynchburg, VA, received the 2018 Land REALTOR® of America Award. The Land REALTOR® of America Award recognizes RLI members for their effort and work expended in the interest of their fellow members, their profession, and their community.

Rising Star Award Luke Worrell, ALC, with Worrell Land Services in Jacksonville, IL, received the 2018 Rising Star Award. The Rising Star Award recognizes a member approaching a mid-level in their career who is on their way to making significant contributions to the land profession and to RLI.

Chapter Administrator of the Year Traci Schermerhorn with the RLI Iowa Chapter was named the 2018 Chapter Administrator of the Year. The recipient is chosen by RLI staff and the choice is based on performance that builds a stronger RLI chapter—such as helping to enrich member experiences, providing support and benefits to members, applying for continuing education units for LANDU courses, and displaying a high code of conduct and ethical standards.

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NLC19 RECAP

2018 RLI APEX Awards Winners The APEX Awards Program, sponsored

by The Land Report, celebrated its second year by doubling in size with 100 applicants totaling a combined $2.3+ billion in qualifying transaction volume. All winners were announced by RLI CEO Aubrie Kobernus, MBA, RCE, as well as The Land Report’s Co-founders Eddie Lee Rider Jr. and Eric O’Keefe at a special awards ceremony on Tuesday, March 5, during NLC19. All land real estate professionals are invited to join RLI and apply to the prestigious RLI APEX Awards Program next year!

2018 Top National Producer The APEX Top National Producer Award is the program’s most coveted and prestigious award, recognizing the applicant with the highest qualifying transaction volume in the country.

Dean Saunders, ALC Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate Lakeland, FL

2018 National Broker of the Year (by category) The APEX National Broker of The Year Award is presented to the agent with the highest qualifying transaction volume in each of the seven categories as seen below.

Broker of the Year in Ag Land Sales – Crops Ray Brownfield, ALC Land Pro, LLC Oswego, IL

2018 Wrangler The APEX Wrangler Award recognizes the agent with the largest number of transaction sides closed in the country.

Geoff Hurdle, ALC Hurdle Land & Realty Lebanon, TN

Broker of the Year in Ag Land Sales – Ranches Dean Saunders, ALC Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate Lakeland, FL

Broker of the Year in Recreational Land Sales Kasey Mock The Mock Ranches Group and Keller Williams Realty Austin, TX

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NLC19 RECAP

Broker of the Year in Timberland Sales Chandlar Graham Larson & McGowin Properties, LLC Mountain Brook, AL

Broker of the Year in Commercial Land Sales Eric Frickle, ALC Eric Conrad Frickle Commercial Realty Corona, CA

Broker of the Year in Residential Land Sales Marty Domres, ALC Domres Real Estate Inv., Inc. Riverview, FL

Broker of the Year in Auction Land Sales Steve Bruere Peoples Company of Indianola Indianola, IA

2018 ALC-to-ALC Networking Awards In recognition of the tremendous networking opportunities available to RLI Members, especially those that have earned the elite Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) Designation, the APEX Awards also features two ALC-to-ALC Networking Awards.

Largest ALC-to-ALC Transaction Dean Saunders, ALC Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate Lakeland, FL

Largest ALC-to-ALC Referral Minor Taylor, ALC Taylor Land Investments Houston, TX

Ray BrownďŹ eld, ALC Land Pro, LLC Oswego, IL

John Moss, ALC The Loranda Group, Inc. Bloomington, IL

Ben Crosby, ALC Crosby & Associates, Inc. Winter Haven, FL

Murray Wise, ALC Murray Wise Associates, LLC Champaign, IL

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NLC19 RECAP

2018 Top Twenty National Producers APEX Top Twenty Producers are those applicants who, based on qualifying transaction dollar volume in closed land sales, are among the twenty highest producing agents in the country.

Ray Brownfield, ALC Land Pro, LLC Oswego, IL

Steve Bruere Peoples Company of Indianola Indianola, IA

Matt Davis Cushman & Wakefield San Diego, CA

Marty Domres, ALC Domres Real Estate Investments Riverview, FL

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Bill Eshenbaugh, ALC Eshenbaugh Land Company Tampa, FL

Troy Louwagie, ALC Hertz Real Estate Services Mt. Vernon, IA

Andy Flack, ALC Homeland Properties Huntsville, TX

Kasey Mock The Mock Ranches Group and Keller Williams Realty Austin, TX

Eric Frickle, ALC Eric Conrad Frickle Commercial Realty Corona, CA

Robb Nelson Mirr Ranch Group Denver, CO

Chandlar Graham Larson & McGowin Properties, LLC Mountain Brook, AL

Todd Renfrew, ALC California Outdoor Properties, Inc. Vacaville, CA

Walter Hatchett, ALC Jon Kohler and Associates Bainbridge, GA

Frank Roberts, ALC RE/MAX Landmark Terrell, TX

Dave Klein, ALC First Mid Ag Services Bloomington, IL

William Rollins, ALC Land Solutions, Inc. Fort Myers, FL

NLC19 RECAP

Ryan Sampson, ALC Eshenbaugh Land Company Tampa, FL

Matt Armstrong, ALC, Chisum Realty and Auction

Eric Frickle, ALC, Eric Conrad Frickle Commercial Realty

Drew Ary, ALC, KW Ary Land and Home

Christine George, Deitra Robertson Real Estate, Inc

Daran Becker, Peoples Company Rick Bourne, Southeastern Land Group Dean Saunders, ALC Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate Lakeland, FL

Sheldon Snyder, ALC Clift Land Brokers Dalhart, TX

Sam Bowers, ALC, Bowers and Burns Real Estate Ray Brownfield, ALC, Land Pro, LLC Steve Bruere, Peoples Company

Greg Good, Clift Land Brokers Jonathan Goode, ALC, Southeastern Land Group

Matthew Clarahan, Hertz Real Estate Services

Chandlar Graham, Larson and McGowin Properties

George Clift, ALC, Clift Land Brokers

Kyle Hansen, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services

Mark Crews, ALC, Florida & Georgia Inland Realty Bill Davis, ALC, KW Foothills Realty Matt Davis, Cushman & Wakefield Cal Dickson, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services

2018 APEX Producers Club

Matt Glander, Whitetail Properties Real Estate

Jared Chambers, Peoples Company

Matt Conser, ALC, Conser Realty and Associates

Chuck Wingert, ALC Wingert Realty and Land Mankato, MN

Virgil George, ALC, United Country – Rocking X Land Company

Marty Domres, ALC, Domres Real Estate Investments Devin Dye, Ron Spencer Real Estate

Members of the APEX Producers Club have proven a minimum of four million dollars of qualifying transaction dollar volume in closed land sales.

Bill Eshenbaugh, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company

Eric Andrews, ALC, Realty World Carolina Properties

Bradford Fletcher, Newmark Knight Frank

Brian Andrus, ALC, Stonebridge Real Estate Company

Clint Flowers, ALC, National Land Realty

Andy Flack, ALC, Homeland Properties

Wendy Forthun, ALC, 1 Stop Realty

Suzanne Haslup, ALC, Meybohm Real Estate Walter Hatchett, ALC, Jon Kohler and Associates Jeff Heil, ALC, Whitetail Properties Real Estate Scott Henrichsen, Hertz Real Estate Services Kenny Herring, ALC, Peoples Company Ryan Hostetler, ALC, AgProfessionals Marv Huntrods, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Service Geoff Hurdle, ALC, Hurdle Land and Realty Darrell Hylen, ALC, Wingert Realty and Land Chad Kies, Hertz Real Estate Services Dave Klein, ALC, First Mid Ag Services John Knipe, ALC, Knipe Land Company SUMMER 2019

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NLC19 RECAP

Michael Krause, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services

Clayton Pilgrim, ALC, Century 21 Harvey Properties

Reid Thompson, Hertz Real Estate Services

Zurick Labrier, ALC, Mason and Morse Ranch Group

Todd Renfrew, ALC, California Outdoor Properties, Inc.

Michael Turner, Whitetail Properties Real Estate

Eric Leisy, ALC, Great Southern Land Co.

Frank Roberts, ALC, RE/MAX Landmark

Eric Turpen, Clift Land Brokers

Stan Lierz, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services

Deitra Robertson, ALC, Deitra Robertson Real Estate, Inc.

Eric Lonnevik, Peoples Company

William Rollins, ALC, Land Solutions, Inc.

Troy Louwagie, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services Rusty Lowe, ALC, Century 21 Harvey Properties Tyler McConnell, ALC, Comey & Shepherd, REALTORS® - Southern Ohio Properties

Dean Saunders, ALC, Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate Chris Smith, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services

Clay McCullar, ALC, KW Land, McCullar Properties

Danny Smith, ALC, Smith and Smith Realty

Caleb McDow, ALC, Crosby and Associates

Tom Smith, ALC, Tom Smith Land and Homes

Chris Miller, ALC, American Forest Management

Travis Smock, Peoples Company

Kasey Mock, Mock Ranches Group and KW Land Jeff Moon, ALC, Agwest Land Brokers Dan Murphy, ALC, M4 Ranch Group Michael Murphy, ALC, M4 Ranch Group Robb Nelson, Mirr Ranch Group Justin Osborn, ALC, The Wells Group Calvin Perryman, ALC, Great Southern Land Co. Robert Pfister, ALC, Pfister Land Company 42

Ryan Sampson, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company

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Sheldon Snyder, ALC, Clift Land Brokers Jeramy Stephens, ALC, National Land Realty Winnie Stortzum, ALC, Farmers National Company Michael Strahan, ALC, Eshenbaugh Land Company Kirk Swenson, 1 Stop Realty Rick Taylor, ALC, Mossy Oak Properties Forest Investments, Inc. Minor Taylor, ALC, Taylor Land Investments

Randall Upchurch, Southeastern Land Group Matt Vegter, Hertz Real Estate Services Jim Vidamour, ALC, Fay Ranches, Inc. Russell Walters, Southeastern Land Group Kirk Weih, ALC, Hertz Real Estate Services Ben Wellons, Wellons Real Estate Eric Wilkinson, Hertz Real Estate Services Chuck Wingert, ALC, Wingert Realty and Land Jim Wirth, ALC, TRI Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. Tucker Wood, Farmers National Company Luke Worrell, ALC, Worrell Land Services Doug Yegge, Peoples Company Jim Zeller, KW Commercial Midwest Andrew Zellmer, Peoples Company Jason Ziegler, ALC, Whitetail Properties Real Estate Garrett Zoller, ALC, landandwildlife.com

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Where are the Opportunities in Opportunity Zones?

By: Matt Davis

What is an Opportunity Zone?

By now, most of you have probably heard about opportunity zones. For those that have not, the program was created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 22, 2017, to incentivize investment in economically distressed parts of the country through tax benefits. The mechanism provides reductions in capital gains tax liability for investors who make long-term investments into census tracts designated as opportunity zones. Opportunity zones will likely favor shovelready development projects, as well as capital intensive renovations of assets under certain conditions.

How it Works There are several primary considerations for opportunity zone investment regarding timing, product type, and implementation.

Below is a summary of what we believe will have the most impact on our clients: 1. Capital gains realized after December 22, 2017 must be invested into one or more Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOF) within 180 days of realizing gain through sale of appreciated assets.

2. QOFs are required to have a minimum of 90% of their funds invested into designated opportunity zones. QOFs can invest directly into qualifying real estate and/or make equity investments into qualifying businesses.

3. A QOF investment may be sold and the tax benefits protected so long as the funds are reinvested into a new QOF investment within 180 days. This is only for purposes of deferring initial capital gains. The holding period for purposes of deferred tax liability reduction and step-up in basis of opportunity zone investments restarts upon reinvestment.

4. Unlike a 1031 Exchange, this program applies to gains from any investment and is not limited to gains from real estate investments. Additionally, this program only requires reinvestment of the gain from the original investment, which leaves the investor free to use the basis as they wish.

5. Property investment needs to meet one of two criteria: (1) real estate needs to be put to “original use” with the QOF, or (2) the fund needs to “substantially improve” the property.

“Original use” means that the building was put into service for the first time at commencement of the QOF investment.

Certificate of occupancy is assumed to be a reasonable measure for this determination. “Substantially improve” means that the QOF needs to more than double its basis in the property within 30 months of acquisition. These requirements only apply to the improvements and not to the land on which they are sited. Recently proposed regulation indicates that a QOF may be treated as the “original user” of a property that has been unused or vacant for at least five years.

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6. Land generally qualifies as opportunity zone business property when used in an active trade or business, excluding situations that are viewed as abusive (e.g. land banking strategies). This applies to both improved and unimproved parcels.

7. Leased property may qualify as business property without substantially improving the property or the tenant being the original user.

The tenant may also be a related party subject to additional restrictions.

8. Certain debt-financed distributions to investors may be tax free and working capital held by a QOF may, in some cases, be allowed to extend beyond 30 months when the fund is awaiting approval of permits.

9. A partnership or corporation may self-identify as a QOF by filing Form 8996 with their tax return.

10. The gain on the original investment shall be assessed no later than

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December 31, 2026, regardless of whether or not the QOF investment has been sold.

The Benefits If the QOF investment is sold during the first 0 to 5 years - The original gain and any incremental gain on the QOF investment become taxable at that time.

If the QOF investment is sold during years 5 to 7 - The original gain is reduced by 10%. Not available for first QOF investments made after December 31, 2021.

If the QOF investment is sold during years 7 to 10 - The original gain is reduced by an additional 5% (15% in total). Not available for first QOF investments made after December 31, 2019.

If the QOF investment is sold after Year 10 – No gains are incurred on the QOF investment.

Bottom Line According to David Bitner, Americas Head of Capital Markets Research for Cushman & Wakefield, analysis indicates that this program could add as much as 150-300 basis points to a project’s aftertax Internal Rate of Return.

Opportunity Zones and Agriculture Many of our clients are interested to learn if this program applies to agricultural land.

The most recent IRS guidance seemed to indicate it may be possible, while also providing an example of when an agricultural investment would NOT qualify.

The proposed regulation states that, “a QOF’s acquisition of a parcel of land currently utilized entirely by a business for the production of an agricultural crop, whether active or fallow at that time, potentially could be treated as qualified opportunity zone business property without the QOF investing any new capital investment in, or increasing any

We are optimistic that if the property is substantially improved, as described earlier, it may be possible to justify an investment in farmland as a qualified investment.

economic activity or output of, that parcel [emphasis added]. In such instances, the Treasury Department and the IRS have determined that the purposes of section 1400Z-2 would not be realized, and therefore the tax incentives otherwise provided under section 1400Z-2 should not be available.”

We are optimistic that if the property is substantially improved, as described earlier, it may be possible to justify an investment in farmland as a qualified investment. For example, if the land purchased is unimproved, the basis would be zero dollars, and any substantial investment into the property that increases its economic activity or output (such as converting it from row crops to permanent plantings) would seem to qualify. This could have significant impact on regions with farmland suitable for development to permanent crops, such as fruit or tree nut orchards, or vineyards. Given the potential for the tax implications associated with this strategy, it is

recommended that you consult with your tax attorney prior to making a QOF investment into farmland.

Finding Value Beyond a Qualified Opportunity Fund According to data recently released by Zillow, homes sold within an opportunity zone saw an average increase in value of over 20% year over year, while values for homes not within an opportunity zone saw comparably modest increases. It is possible that this trend is a result of those properties selling at a premium to a QOF for redevelopment or renovation. However, it is more likely that buyers believe these economically distressed communities will see outsized capital investment due to this program and, therefore, will see positive change and generate greater value appreciation over time.

So what does this mean? Even if no qualifying projects are realized as part of this program, a community could see a substantial benefit through an increase in

investment dollars from non-QOF investors hoping to take advantage of the community benefits the program may generate. This speculation and influx of capital is likely to be somewhat selffulfilling, creating exactly the kind of investment and benefits the program was designed to foster. In some areas, these benefits aren’t likely to stop at the census tract boundary and it is easy to see how they could spill over into neighboring communities despite them not being within an opportunity zone.

Key Takeaways • Time is of the essence – The structure of the program is such that the earlier funds are invested and the longer they are held in a QOF, the greater the benefit.

The table below summarizes how these benefits are impacted by time.

• Engage professionals early on – Talk to your tax attorney to ensure you don’t inadvertently make a mistake that will disqualify you from taking advantage of these benefits in full.

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QOF Investment Date

Original Gain 10% Original 15% Original Deferral to Gain Gain 12/31/2026 Reduction Reduction

Before 12/31/2019

•

•

Before 12/31/2021

•

•

Before 12/31/2026

•

•

No Capital Gain Tax on QOF Investment* • • •

*Applies to QOF investments of over 10 years • Not all opportunity zones are created equal – Like all investments, some will perform better than others.

Engage a knowledgeable real estate team to ensure you fully understand the fundamentals of the specific market. Look for markets with strong employment, income, and population growth, as well as those already seeing signs of economic revitalization.

• No substitute for quality underwriting – The program will likely make a good investment better but is unlikely to salvage a poor investment.

• Time will tell – We won’t know if the program will yield the desired results for many years. If Zillow’s data is an 48

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early indicator, the program could be a value driver that generates above average returns for savvy investors and positive externalities for the communities.

• Ongoing questions – The second round of proposed regulations has removed much of the uncertainty from the program and we should start to see increased transaction activity as a result. The most recent round of guidance is generally viewed as being favorable to the taxpayer, which should increase confidence that the ultimate implementation of this program will not be unnecessarily punitive. However, as is the case with

any regulation of this scale and impact, there are likely to be changes and growing pains as the final details are worked out and ultimately approved.

About the author: Matt Davis is a real estate broker with Cushman & Wakefield.

He is based in San Diego, CA, and assists clients with the disposition and acquisition of investment grade agricultural and transitional land assets. He is also founding member of the company’s Land Advisory Group and Agribusiness Solutions Team. Matt is a member of RLI and serves the 2019 Future Leaders Committee.

m 3 most-visited Exposure to Top search land listing 7 million land engine websites buyers per visibility for month rural real estate

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News and Notes From Inside the Beltway

By Russell Riggs

RLI Submits Comment Letter on Proposed Rule to Revise WOTUS Definition On April 15, 2019, RLI submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) proposed rule to revise the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”).

RLI supports this proposed rule because it strikes an appropriate balance between regulatory clarity and transparency, and the need for robust environmental protection of waters and wetlands. It aligns with Supreme Court precedent and seeks to preserve the states’ roles in regulating waters within their boundaries. It is based on sound science but also reflects reasonable legal interpretations on the scope of the agencies’ regulation under the CWA. In the letter, RLI noted that the proposed rule: • Retains and clarifies the Prior Converted Cropland exclusion that is a critical component for healthy rural agricultural real estate markets and land conservation purposes.

• Provides much-needed clarity by setting clear categories to guide jurisdictional determinations.

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• Preserves states’ traditional authority over local land and water use by recognizing and emphasizing the role they play in protecting water quality.

• Enhances transparency by clarifying the scope of the proposed federal regulation and what the implications would be for all regulatory programs under a revised WOTUS. • Reflects the current state of science by using previous EPA reports to guide and inform the proposed rule.

The proposed rule stands in stark contrast to the 2015 Waters of the U.S. Clean Water Rule. That WOTUS Rule would have swept many more waters under authority of the federal government; would have made it more difficult to determine what level of government had jurisdiction over specific waters; and would have increased regulatory uncertainty, costs, and burdens.

The letter made clear that RLI members care deeply about clear rules, clean water, and private property rights. This proposal goes a long way to correct past agency practices, guidance, and interpretations that have unnecessarily expanded the scope of federal water regulation beyond the appropriate bounds of regulation under the CWA and the Constitution.

The EPA and the Corps will review all the comments received and is planning to finalize a final rule sometime in 2020.

RLI supports this proposed rule because it strikes an appropriate balance between regulatory clarity and transparency, and the need for robust environmental protection of waters and wetlands.

RLI Rounding-up 75th Anniversary Recognitions To celebrate turning 75 years young this year, RLI has asked Congress and the White House to commemorate this auspicious occasion by passing legislation and sending congratulatory messages to its membership.

Here is an update of this activity, as of this writing: The White House President Trump sent a Presidential message to RLI members, thanking them for being “…instrumental in helping to ensure the prosperity of our local communities and our country for all generations.”

The Senate Senators Tom Cotton (RAR) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) have introduced SR 115, “…to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the REALTORS® Land Institute.” A vote has not been scheduled at this time.

The House of Representatives Staff has met and was well-received in the offices of Representatives Colin Peterson (D-MN) and Nick Crawford (R-AR) to develop and introduce legislation to commemorate this anniversary. It is anticipated that legislation will be introduced this summer.

Quick Takes on 2019 Priorities Federal Taxation The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act included many changes that affect the real estate industry, especially residential. As we close the first tax season under the new tax code, REALTORS® have been working to protect or support the following policies: (1) Extension of expired mortgage debt cancellation tax relief; (2) Use Opportunity Zones to attract real property investments in qualified areas; and (3) Index to inflation the $750,000 cap on mortgage interest deduction.

Flood Insurance: LongTerm Reauthorization, Meaningful Reform We are working to bring solvency and sustainability to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), advocating for reforms that make flood mapping systems more accurate, better align rates to risk, and address repeatedly flooding properties.

Access to Credit: Affordability & Alternative Credit Models When purchasing a home, building, or land, most buyers depend on banks and the government to help finance their real estate purchases. This highlights the importance of access to credit and alternative credit models. Earlier this year, NAR unveiled its comprehensive vision to ensure all people have the same rates and access. It ensures fair and affordable mortgage credit remains available to middle class Americans across Middle America.

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When purchasing a home, building, or land, most buyers depend on banks and the government to help finance their real estate purchases.

Infrastructure: Allencompassing Investments Infrastructure improvements have been shown to enhance property values by creating livable communities and business districts. Poorly maintained streets, public transit, and traffic congestion in an area impose extra costs throughout the local economy. We urge Congress to pursue infrastructure policies that reflect a broad community vision, and continue to advocate for a level playing field for both highway and public transit funding.

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About the author: In his position with the National Association of REALTORS®, Russell Riggs serves as RLI’s Government Affairs Liaison in Washington, D.C., conducting advocacy on a variety of federal issues related to land. If you would like additional information on any of these issues, Russell can be contacted at 202-383-1259 or rriggs@realtors.org

Blockchain in Real Estate

By Mark Lesswing

Blockchain technology in real estate has not quite yet been accepted by business leaders. Misconceptions and misinformation have created an environment that is delaying adoption. While no technology is a universal perfect fit, we should look for situations that benefit from blockchain’s best features. We should take the time to understand blockchains in order to maximize their potential as an asset that can have positive impacts on business.

Understanding Blockchain Think of blockchain technology as a ledger that is distributed to many parties. Just like a published book, the information recorded in the ledger is permanent, cannot be altered, and everyone who needs a copy of the ledger has one. If you want to change the information that has been published, you have to ensure changes are made to every copy of the book. In terms of a blockchain, the information is across the internet on various computers. The difficulty only increases as the number of books in circulation increase. Another point to note here is that high circulation publications are difficult to completely erase from history.

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Just like any new technology, there is a vocabulary associated with blockchains. Breaking down the word blockchain, block being a log of stored data and chain referring to how the data links together, is a good place to start. Then you start hearing words like cryptocurrency, token, coins, and smart contracts, all of this can be overwhelming. For now though, the most important technical term to remember is the overall synonym for blockchain: distributed ledger. As a business leader, keep reminding yourself that blockchains are tamper-proof records with many copies.

Each party operates a copy of the blockchain. The blockchain is simply a reserved part of your computer disk. There are two competing ways information is distributed.

Method 1 – This one is called Byzantine Fault. When you record a new transaction, it is first sent out to all computers to make sure they have a copy that can receive the change. If a majority of the computers agree, your local copy is then changed and all others are alerted to the change.

While no technology is a universal perfect fit, we should look for situations that benefit from blockchain’s best features.

Method 2 – This one is called Mining. When you record a new transaction, thousands of “miners” are notified. Each one tries to come up with mathematically unique representation of the transaction. The first person to come up with the solution earns part of the fee (every transaction requires a token). This is a tremendously wasteful exercise (from an electricity standpoint) and has been heavily criticized. It has resulted in mining farms operated by folks looking to create revenue.

time. Your weight, address, and appearance (photo) are best stored in a database because they change over time. Now consider your driving record. It is a series of events that are not subject to change. In a database, the information stored there is subject to change. With a blockchain, the information is a permanent track record of events.

I have been asked, “If blockchains are a record-keeping mechanism, what is wrong with using databases the way we do today?” My answer is that there is nothing wrong with what we do today. The industry has an enormous investment in documents so any suggestion that we should move millions of them into a blockchain is unrealistic. The effort would be a needless waste of time and storage capacity. However, using the book example, a better approach would be to record the location of a book and then to document any changes that have been made since its publication as new events are added.

Short, time-based events are easy to record with a blockchain.

Asset management activities generate excellent examples of events in commercial and residential real estate. Some of the activities that create events are:

The difference between a database and a blockchain is like the difference between a driver's license and a driving record.

Information on your driver's license is subject to change over

Blockchain in Real Estate

• inventory • maintenance activities • tax payments • improvements Using blockchains, builders and developers can quickly identify who supplied materials, where they were used, and how they were handled. This is why many supply chain companies

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(especially food handlers) are adopting blockchains.

Blockchains are good at asset management because they create trustworthy records. They create tamperproof records and no special software, services, or procedures are needed to recover from catastrophic outages.

Damaged computers simply reconnect to the network and recreate the lost information from other copies.

The Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO) has created a workgroup that thinks events are applicable beyond real estate brokerage. Events allow real estate professionals to easily exchange information between lending, public records, and insurance companies. The workgroup is not facilitating the exchange of underlying documents,

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simply a ledger of events (think of a timeline).

Caution Ahead We should consider the impact of legislative and regulatory efforts to protect privacy on blockchains since they contain tamper-proof, permanent records.

If information written to a blockchain can never be erased, personal information like account numbers, passwords, or contact information should not be recorded. The security community calls this kind of information Personally Identifying Information (PII) which has “the right to be forgotten,” according to GDPR. We can expect to see continued legislative and regulatory efforts to protect privacy, so it is important to keep this in mind when implementing blockchain technology in the industry.

Legislative and regulatory actions intended to help consumers can actually end up hurting adoption. A review of actions at the state level published last year showed that blockchain definitions used in legislative language varied significantly between states. We should think about one of the main points in The High Cost of Good Intentions by John F. Cogan; government strives to act in the best interest of the citizens but ends up stopping innovation that is designed to help them. We should be working with local, state, and federal governments to make sure they understand the impacts of their actions.

Still Learning Earlier this year, I attended the 2019 National Land Conference hosted by the REALTORS® Land Institute (RLI) in Albuquerque, NM, to discuss blockchain technology. One of the challenges I noted was implementing blockchain technology at the county level. The decision-making process at over 3,000 counties slows down adoption significantly since millions of records would have to be transposed.

I was pleasantly surprised to find blockchain uses I had not yet considered. Possible uses for blockchains in land real estate include:

Do not ignore blockchains.

Pretending they will not emerge will not stop them.

• Water rights • Indigenous land rights • Mineral rights When they were first mentioned, I assumed the issues were similar to those faced in the County Recorder’s office. I came to realize the value of RLI. We have established that blockchains are good at capturing small events.

When a property changes owners, what is purchased can be the result of subdividing or combining tracts. Many county recording systems have difficulty combining properties. Blockchains are good at tracking splits and combinations because they are optimized to record event history.

Recording water rights are more complex because both surface water and groundwater need to be considered.

However, as the population increases, simple first-in-time and first-in-right historical surface water rights are being challenged by legislation and regulation.

These complexities make recording surface water rights with blockchains an ideal solution.

Groundwater record keeping can be more complex than a simple rule of capture situation. Drilling, natural erosion, and abuse of the aquifer are all conditions that can be detected with periodic testing.

Blockchains can be used to reference test results creating a tamper-proof, timebased record. Indigenous land rights are another area of land transfer that can impact development plans. Blockchain technology is ideally suited to create records that survive multiple transfers and do not need to be routinely researched.

I saved mineral rights for last because they are more complex than the aforementioned items. With water, there are two facets to consider: surface and groundwater. The courts still see disputes over the definition of what constitutes a mineral. Royalty agreements routinely include many parties and need to be researched before the transaction is closed. These complexities can be captured using blockchains.

The effort to record mineral rights with blockchains should avoid capturing old records. Instead, new research should be recorded from this point forward. Many of the records are very old and are needed for historical backup. Scanning and digitizing historical documents do not help the process of documenting mineral rights.

Recording mineral rights agreements and interpretations in blockchains create tamper-proof records that many parties can reference electronically.

Cryptocurrency and Smart Contracts Due to the well documented volatility of cryptocurrency, it is unlikely that we will see wide scale purchasing of property using cryptocurrency. The banks are not ready to lend this form of currency yet and commissions will probably not be paid this way. The number of cryptocurrency property transactions will never exceed today’s volume of 100% cash transactions.

This is a good time to clarify some blockchain jargon. Cryptocurrency denominations are typically called tokens or coins. Tokens must be purchased before use and are not typically interchangeable between applications.

Buying and selling tokens is still a complex process, but the community is trying to simplify it. There have also been improvements to token interoperability between blockchains.

Compensating work is a much better application of cryptocurrency. Instead of closing the entire transaction, you can order just those services you would like to be performed electronically.

Services can have conditions such as “do not execute during business hours,” or more complex rules, such as, “on the

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fourth day, transfer $1,000 to this system.” The logic that controls these kinds of services is called a smart contract. Smart contracts are not the same as legal contracts. A traditional legal contract is the outcome of negotiations and often contains attachments, addenda, and amendments related to the transaction.

Smart contracts are not unique to a specific transaction. They can operate on a transaction but are not unique to the transaction. Smart contracts only represent conditional logic.

A good example of a smart contract can be found in fund disbursement. The hard part of designing smart contracts is capturing all of the options within a request. Imagine a vending machine that you can use to order transaction services.

If the right number and type of tokens are inserted, you can select an in-stock item. The machine releases the item (i.e., the smart contract is executed). If those conditions are not met, the item (if there is one) is not released. The options you want can affect the number of tokens required to select the item.

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Final Thoughts and Application Do not ignore blockchains. Pretending they will not emerge will not stop them.

You do not have to understand them at a technical level. Look for blockchains to emerge within business practices that need improvement, especially in the record-keeping area.

The biggest factor that can stop the widespread adoption of blockchains is resistance to change. Business leaders have a fiduciary duty to manage the risk, which includes being wary of unintended consequences. Until the risks are known and at least partially mitigated, policies do not change. Business leaders still need more education about blockchains before they’ll be comfortable with adoption.

Thinking about how blockchain could benefit your real estate business?

Practice looking for applications that need both permanent records and require access by many parties.

Blockchains will probably enter the industry through applications in ways that most will not even know they are using them. For now, just stay aware and keep an eye out for potential uses in your business.

About the author: Mark Lesswing is a Blockchain Entrepreneur who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University.

He started programming robots just out of college and, in 1988, began working with object-oriented programming. Mark has worked for large database vendors such as Sybase (as a startup) and Oracle spending a summer in Europe setting up international operations. In 1992, he launched his own consultancy and was involved in corporate turnarounds. Mark joined the National Association of REALTORS® in 2001 and as the Chief Technology Officer was a tenacious advocate for data standards and innovation. He is a frequent speaker at major trade conferences and is listed in the International Who‘s Who of Information Technology and the National Register of Who’s Who in Executives and Professionals.

Concerning Cannabis

By Kirk Goble, ALC

In 2012, the citizens of Colorado voted decisively to become the ďŹ rst jurisdiction in the world to allow legal adult possession, use, growing, and retail sales of cannabis (marijuana). Colorado has had legal medical marijuana since 2000. The 2012 amendment to the Colorado Constitution (Amendment 64) also set forth retail marijuana sales rules, a taxing structure that provides for revenue to schools, public and youth education regarding cannabis, and the production of industrial hemp.

Colorado became ground zero for cannabis reform and many other states and municipalities have since been looking to Colorado for guidance and example. Colorado citizens, in greater numbers all the time, have supported this groundbreaking change and the legislature, regulators, and industry have been working diligently to construct a business and legal framework within which to operate.

Cannabis reform is also sweeping the nation. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have passed laws broadly legalizing marijuana in some form, and the 2018 Farm Bill set the framework for legal industrial hemp nationwide. This movement will continue and the Federal government will catch up or be forced to approve and adapt in time as reform states lead the way. The latest Gallup poll on cannabis shows 66% of all Americans across the board support full legalization of this ancient plant. Canada has had legal hemp since the 1990s, and last year they legalized marijuana nationwide.

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Colorado has managed this matter pretty well by writing good laws, monitoring the law’s status and effects, and adjusting regulations as needed to mitigate unanticipated issues for regulation and law enforcement while addressing the needs of the ancient industry. The entire conversation has changed in our state - fewer talk of fears and pot jokes and more talk of business opportunity. In short order, legalization has brought about normalization. For example, in Denver proper, there are more dispensaries than Starbucks.

Retail cannabis sales in Colorado began in 2014. Last year, the adult use (recreational) sales alone topped $1.5 billion, with tax revenues of over $266 million in calendar year 2018. Since 2012, the cannabis industry has created over 2,500 new jobs in the state; jobs that are home grown (pun intended) and won’t be exported overseas.

Colorado studies have shown little impact to law enforcement due to adult use, declining use by youth under 21, increased tourism, and tax revenues in excess of predictions. Appropriately, marijuana is regulated by the Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue and industrial hemp is regulated by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

Other states have recognized the futility and costs of cannabis prohibition and are beginning to realize that it is a product that is best regulated, taxed, and properly controlled rather than treated as a criminal matter. Idaho, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and South Dakota are the remaining states that have resisted cannabis reform and several of those are either re-

Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have passed laws broadly legalizing marijuana in some form, and the 2018 Farm Bill set the framework for legal industrial hemp nationwide.

examining their status or have citizen-driven initiatives attempting to modernize the regulations in their jurisdictions.

Current legal retail marijuana sales in the US are approximately $6 billion. With recent legalization in California and Michigan, those figures are expected to grow exponentially. The estimated total marijuana demand in the US (including black market) is $50-$55 billion, which is the potential under nationwide legalization. The hemp products industry is hovering around $620 million and is estimated to exceed $5 billion by 2020. Clearly, this is an exciting growth industry with much opportunity. There are numerous impacts of the changing laws to the real estate industry, including land brokers, and it is a billion plus dollar industry that should not be ignored.

At some point, it is likely that we as real estate brokers in reform states will encounter a cannabis issue in the course of daily business. It could be an inspection issue for a home grow, a request for cannabis appropriate properties, warehouse or retail facilities, leases, hemp production farms and processing, or a myriad of other possibilities. Whether this poses a difficulty or an opportunity, you should be aware of the rules and regulations of the industry.

Hemp and marijuana are the same plant: cannabis sativa. The cannabis plant contains over 60 compounds known as cannabinoids which are unique to the plant. Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa that contains less than 0.3% of delta-9 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the component of cannabis that produces the high from marijuana.

Hemp has been a historically important crop and was widely used in industry prior to being made effectively illegal under the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 and rendered completely illegal under the Controlled Substances Act of 1971. Hemp has a long list of useful applications: fiber, cloth, paper, oils, plastics, lubricants, cosmetics, food products, bio-diesel and ethanol, insulation, and building materials. It has more than 25,000 documented uses, but will not produce a high.

Industrial hemp was first addressed in the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed interested states to establish programs for research of propagation, growing, utilization, and marketing of hemp. The first seven states that chose to participate gained a head start in developing a robust hemp industry.

The 2018 Farm Bill, passed last December, made major changes to the law: • Defines hemp as any part of the cannabis plant containing 0.3% THC • Removes hemp, as defined, from the Controlled Substances Act • Provides that raising hemp will not impact participation in Farm Service Agency programs • Provides that hemp can be included in Federal Crop Insurance programs • Requires each state to propose a state plan or operate under Federal rules

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opted out of hemp production so far, including Kansas, Nebraska, and Idaho.

Over exuberant and uninformed law enforcement has caused several instances of hemp transporters being arrested and detained on marijuana charges. These arrests are examples of some of the rough spots that may occur during the transition to a legal cannabis economy.

• Allows states to opt out of hemp production • Allows interstate transportation of hemp and hemp products The passage of the new 2018 Farm Bill has really energized interest in the crop; however, full codification, rule writing, and promulgation and implementation of all elements of the new law will take time.

Most Federal rules will not be complete until the 2020 crop year, and some issues like crop insurance could take longer. Some farmers have tried hemp production and have decided to wait until the rules are clear and the markets settle before planting again. Processors are still catching up with growers, leaving some farmers with a harvested crop with nowhere to go. I always advise a producer to secure the sale before planting the seed.

The hemp plant has about a third less moisture and nutrient requirements than corn and far less, if any, pesticides. It is an annual plant that grows rapidly to a height of 8 to 12 feet with large seed heads, a fibrous stalk, and tap root.

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returned to the soil, adding organic matter. Hemp is a dicot plant with a deep tap root that improves soil aeration and water permeability, particularly in compaction prone soils. The crop is harvested for seed (used as seed stock and a source of oils and food products), fiber (for cloth, paper pulp, rope, insulation, building materials), and production of CBD (cannabidiol), a nonpsychoactive substance used medically to suppress seizures, reduce anxiety, pain relief, and other uses. The cannabis plant is resilient and grows well in several different soil types.

As commodity prices for traditional crops remain at 30-year lows, hemp is poised to be a viable, productive plant for continued agricultural production and has raised major interest from all sectors of the agriculture industry. Every hemp meeting for farmers that I have attended has been a standing room only crowd.

Approximately 78,000 acres of hemp were grown in the US in 2018. Of that, 70% was grown for production of CBD; 10% for grain; 10% for fiber; and 10% for other uses or crop loss. Some states have

I have developed a four-hour course entitled Cannabis Country that goes deeply into the topics addressed here plus an in-depth history of cannabis prohibition, the multitude of uses of the plant, phytocannabinoids, endocannabinoids, legislation, propagation, markets, and the future of cannabis in the US. Watch for it near you or contact me for information and scheduling.

About the author: Kirk Goble, ALC, has been a Colorado licensed real estate broker since 1988 and founded The Bell 5 Land Company in 2000.

He specializes in farm, ranch, land, and water brokerage. He is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, The Greeley Area REALTOR® Association, and the REALTORS® Land Institute. Goble was awarded the Land REALTOR® of America by the REALTORS® Land Institute in 2013.

We believe investing in land starts with the why. For a broker to serve a client well, they need to understand why a client is wanting to invest. Often, the why has little to do with financial issues. Why do they want to invest? What is important to an investor? There are financial, emotional, and recreational benefits to investing in land.

Once we understand the why, then it’s a matter of figuring out the financial entry parameters for the investment - total dollars to be spent, desired geography, the target rate of return, etc.

After we learn the big picture parameters, we can help shape expectations. Setting expectations at this stage is critical. In all areas of land investing, so much of the long-term financial success hinges on how well we do in helping a client achieve realistic expectations to purchase an asset. Buy low, sell high isn’t a complicated idea, but it’s very hard to execute (especially on the buy side).

It is important for the broker to discuss this and help the client consider the liquidity of the land investment. This discussion will help the client keep in view the ‘long-game’ with the prospective sale of the asset, which may be years down the line. As brokers and trusted advisors to our clients, having that exit strategy/discussion is important. Take notes, and make sure the client knows and remembers how and why they chose to do what they did.

Land is one of the oldest investments in the world. The significant wealth of the world originated with land ownership.

Land is also traditionally one of the most conservative investments, with land held by families for generations.

Institutional investors have named land as a new asset class.

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Changes in technology, world demographics, and government policies have caused land income and land prices to increase.

The financial performance of land as an investment has offered financial stability, steady earnings, and diversification from other investments. Land earns well compared to other assets.

Land is a stable investment. However, there is risk to managing it. An investor manages risk through the selection lease or operating arrangement, farm location, soils, crops, water quality, and quantity. Each of these factors is predicated on geography.

Buying land in the corn-belt has a different risk profile than buying land in the West, Delta, or Southeast.

Our team of farmland professionals helps individuals, families, and organizations buy, sell, and own income-producing land – primarily for those who do not provide their own labor or machinery. We professionally manage 2,400 farms with 550,000 acres for our clients.

Growing Green – An Investor’s Guide to Investing in Land Real Estate

By Randy Hertz, ALC

Land has unique characteristics, compared to other real estate and securities: 1) Land has the potential for perpetual income. If owners are good stewards of the land and maintain and improve the land, the land will produce income forever.

2) Land produces tangible production – something real. Whether the land grows commodity crops, veggies, livestock, or timber, it is real production.

3) Quality land builds and maintains value through a combination of soil, location, water, climate, logistics, and community. Selecting land for investment allows the investor to hand pick the location and characteristics that help maintain value and position for future growth in income and value.

Government policies shape and influence the land use, ownership, and potential future uses. Land ownership offers stability with changing government policies. Many of our governments have difficulty managing their economies and lack the fiscal discipline to balance their budgets. There are few investments

which offer financial performance based on producing food and tangible commodities that adjust for inflation and economic changes.

The technology revolution is impacting land efficiency, water management, genetics, cultural practices, and food safety - all which impact land values.

Land production and income is a result of improving yields, quality of production, production efficiencies, and demand for food, fuel, and fiber for a growing world population. Examples include average corn yields increasing by 400% from the 1930s to today, and productivity improvements with labor content today for an acre of corn or soybean production of less than one hour per acre per year. One American farmer now feeds an average of 116 people.

Land values are directly correlated with the benefits received from the land. As productivity, yields, and prices have increased, so have land values.

Finally, land can provide additional benefits beyond pure financial rewards. In addition to producing something for the world, you have an environmental benefit and the recreational components of hiking, hunting, fishing, and pride of ownership.

How do you participate in land ownership? You do not need to live on the land and operate and manage it yourself.

There is professional assistance and an active land rental market. Professional management of your land investment is available. There are thousands of little decisions to make while managing and improving the value of your land, all of which can make a larger difference among land investment results than people would imagine. The relationship between an owner and their manager/operator is special. They share a connection to the land and a relationship to making the world a better place.

About the author: Randy Hertz, ALC, is CEO, broker, and farmland professional with Hertz Farm Management and Hertz Real Estate Services, specializing in land brokerage and management. He is a senior instructor for the REALTORS® Land Institute’s LANDU Education Program who has a bachelor degree from Iowa State and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

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New Data and Market Analysis for Land Brokerage Site Selection and Feasibility

New Economic Metrics and Resources for Site Selection

Article Courtesy of CCIM,

by K.C. Conway, MAI, CRE

ADP processes the payrolls for approximately one-fifth of the nation's private payroll employment, and its monthly employment data is a credible estimate of private employment activity.

Today, technology and data are changing more rapidly than ever before, transforming the commercial real estate practice at every iteration. Far removed are the days of fold-out discounted cash flow analysis reports, maps plastered with rub-off decals, and microfilm-powered due diligence. Likewise, disruptive companies such as Amazon, WeWork, and Airbnb are changing the way we use, analyze, and value property.

Due to unprecedented advances in data and technology, the tools, devices, techniques, and resources we relied upon decades ago – or even last year – can quickly become obsolete. Whether you've been in the business three years or 30, a tune-up may be necessary to stay abreast of the latest data sets and metrics available to commercial real estate land professionals for analyses and site selection.

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We have been conditioned in our training that job growth drives demand for commercial real estate and that the government's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the resource to consult. Due to dated methods, the BLS often struggles to accurately estimate employment growth. For more reliable data, look no further than ADP's National Employment Report (NER), produced jointly with Moody's Analytics, and LinkedIn's Workforce Report with Skills-Gap Analysis.

LinkedIn's Workforce Report is a powerful supplement to ADP’s National Employment Report. The report draws on employment data from the more than 190 million workers in the U.S. who have LinkedIn accounts. LinkedIn's monthly jobs report also includes invaluable skills-gap analyses at an MSA level stratified across 50,000 employment sectors, from brokers to welders. If you are engaged in site selection or advise companies on site selection decisions, LinkedIn Workforce Reports are a musthave in your toolkit. Had Amazon utilized the LinkedIn Workforce Report with Skill-Gap Analysis before making its HQ2 split decision, it would have known that New York ranked worst for available skilled workforce – below even Seattle or San Francisco.

Due to unprecedented advances in data and technology, the tools, devices, techniques, and resources we relied upon decades ago – or even last year – can quickly become obsolete.

In addition, a great proxy for GDP is the rail traffic data produced by the Association of American Railroads. The Rail Time Indicators report is an invaluable economic resource that anyone engaged in industrial real estate should have – and never leave home without. Weekly and monthly rail traffic data and the more comprehensive RTI report tell us what commodities and goods are moving, where they're headed, and at what volumes – solid, reliable data to ascertain a true measure of economic growth.

It's also prudent to seek out non-government sources for critical economic measures like gross domestic product and small business activity. These will come in handy during a government shutdown or natural disaster. The government does not produce data during a shutdown, and the data it produces during times of emergency, like hurricanes or wildfires, is often delayed. As a result, you may need to supplement with additional sources of on-demand data.

For a powerful one-two punch of construction data and insights, check out the Association of General Contractors (AGC) and the Engineering News-Record (ENR). AGC produces a monthly survey that provides a thorough understanding of what general contractors are experiencing and forecasting, including construction materials, spending, and employment.

A perfect pairing with AGC, ENR offers a monthly periodical with a construction economics section and a 20-city index that details current and historical data on actual material and labor costs.

So where should commercial real estate professionals turn for this business intelligence? A good global resource is Trading Economics. Leveraging official sources, the site offers verifiable data from 196 countries including “historical data for more than 20 million economic indicators, exchange rates, stock market indexes, government bond yields, and commodity prices."

Rethinking Development for the Modern E-Commerce Supply The following section of the report contains adapted excerpts from the Alabama Center for Real Estate's report, “Logistics Infrastructure: Transformational Opportunities.”

The horseless-carriage supply chain from the 1950s cannot support a modern e-commerce supply chain that is growing at a rate of 25 to 30 percent per year. The state of the country's aging infrastructure is not only inhibiting future economic and real estate development, it also forces existing industry to SUMMER 2019

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relocate to destinations that have modern logistics infrastructures. In 2019, logistics infrastructure adequacy is as important a consideration in site selection as workforce.

Take a look at the locations of new fulfillment centers for Amazon, Walmart, Target, and home improvement retailers.

They are all near intermodal hubs – places like Bessemer and Mobile, Ala.; Columbus, Ohio; Polk County, Fla.; Greenville, S.C.; Atlanta; Dallas; Denver; and even Tucson, Ariz. One can also look to the locations for new aircraft, auto, and machinery manufacturing plants in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. Logistics infrastructure analysis – roads, rail, intermodal, port connectivity, utility costs, and workforce – is now integral to site selection studies and investment analyses.

vehicles, they are rising for retail as more space is repurposed from transactional to experiential, where parking demand is higher for restaurant and service uses (gyms, spas, etc.).

People stay longer at an experiential-use site compared to a traditional store, where people run in and out to purchase goods. In the industrial space, warehouses require larger sites and more parking to accommodate double-trailer truck hauls as well as employee parking in the fulfillment portions of these locations. The opposite trend is occurring for hotels and many types of multifamily, such as student housing. Universities – and the towns in which they are located – are realizing that fewer students own and use cars like previous generations. They use scooters and ride-sharing, or they rent electronic vehicles available on campus. Hotels are realizing a 25- to 40-percent reduction in patrons requiring overnight parking as they pivot from rental cars to ride-sharing.

The point is, traditional measures are changing. If historical data sources fail to adapt, then those measures will become be less relevant as users move toward new metrics. This adaptation is critical in that it allows commercial real estate practitioners to translate these historical measures into meaningful current data for analysis and valuation.

E-commerce also continues to drive demand for industrial warehouse space, with another 800 million to 1 billion square feet of new development expected across the U.S. over the next three years. Are your logistics site selection and investment analysis skills up to speed to aid in this explosion?

Are you familiar with modern design specifications that call for higher clear ceiling heights or expanded truck courtyards to accommodate more double-trailer trucks as a result of the implementation of electronic logs for truck drivers?

And what about the feasibility of tent warehouses, which Amazon is testing in Memphis, Tenn.? These innovative warehouse designs have no columns, cost one-third of conventional masonry warehouses, and can provide clear ceiling heights of 30 feet or more.

What's more, the ongoing innovation in traditional construction design and materials for all property types challenges our cost estimation and market feasibility skills, much like modular did in housing decades ago.

Are price or rent per square foot and traffic counts no longer the appropriate units of measure for determining price or market feasibility? Should cubic volume be a consideration, particularly in industrial? What about traffic and online versus instore sales allocation in retail, especially with the pervasiveness of e-commerce? Consider the changes in retail real estate.

Same-store comparable sales and percentage rent clauses are nearly as extinct as branch banks.

Parking ratios also are changing. While they may be declining for office due to ride-sharing and the promise of autonomous

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Moreover, the new tools and data resources developed to meet these challenges are coming from unlikely sources. Instead of using car traffic counts as a proxy for retail sales at a shopping center, telecom companies like Verizon have developed their own index to analyze online shopping traffic and patterns.

There's clear value in looking at mobile phone traffic for retail and comparing same-store online and in-store sales. With the current ever-evolving landscape, it's hard to separate technology from the retail industry; sources like Verizon are helping bridge that gap to provide a more accurate picture for commercial real estate analysis.

Recently, Develop LLC, an opportunity zone REIT, created the first opportunity zone index that evaluates each of the 8,700 opportunity zones based on a variety of metrics, including population density, employment, and infrastructure.

Which traditional property measures require rethinking? The short answer: all of them.

A Way Forward For all these advances to translate into vibrant economic growth, local governments need to recalibrate, but it will take a joint effort by government and industry professionals. To this day, for example, many municipalities have yet to adopt adaptive reuse ordinances to support the repurposing of existing vacant retail buildings while preparing for the new opportunity zone program. Local governments are behind in understanding changing parking trends, revenue loss from online retail growth, and how tax assessments are impacted for real estate that is increasingly a going concern.

The secret to enduring success in commercial real estate is simple – never stop learning, never become complacent.

Proactively adapting to the latest data sources and technology in valuation and financial and market analyses is vital. It's a matter of keeping your career engine purring or being left behind by your competitors, stalled roadside.

About the author: K.C. Conway, MAI, CRE, is the Chief Economist for CCIM. Conway is also the Director of Research and Corporate Engagement at the Alabama Center for Real Estate. With more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, Conway is a nationally recognized expert and speaker in the industry.

A New Development Matrix for Today’s CRE Industry

By Mark Van Ark, CCIM, SIOR Many commercial real estate land professionals may be familiar with James Graaskamp, Ph.D., SREA, CRE, and his early work on real estate development, “The Fundamentals of Real Estate Development,” published nearly 40 years ago.

In it, he created a rather intricate workflow and description of the development process outlining the political, social and enterprise components. The process was so involved, however, that most needed classroom guidance from Dr. Graaskamp to fully understand the process and its many nuances.

Fast forward to 2012. Daniel Kohlhepp, Ph.D., MAI, with Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s Edward St. John Real Estate Program decided to take Graaskamp’s work one step further and make the whole process more accessible. Kohlhepp incorporated his own personal development experience to create a new, more comprehensive real estate development matrix, expanding Graaskamp’s three stages to seven. As a result, the new development matrix provides a clear roadmap of the entire real estate development process from the land banking stage to the redevelopment stage: land banking, land packaging, land development, building development, building operation, building renovation, and site redevelopment. It’s a new matrix for today’s commercial real estate professional. Much like employment data and the other metrics and data sets discussed in the article, a new matrix was needed to reflect the advances and sophistication of today’s development process.

Three years ago, CCIM Institute leveraged Kohlhepp’s matrix as the linchpin in the CCIM Development Specialty Track series, which takes a deep dive into all seven stages – from the land banking stage to the redevelopment stage – and incorporates real-world application every step along the way. There are four stages of Kohlhepp’s matrix that are of particular interest to the land brokerage practice – Land Banking, Land Packaging, Land Development and Building Development. Gaining clarity and a greater understanding of the language, workflow, goals and hurdles of developers helps create value and deepens relationships with the development community.

Editor’s Note: This article is an adapted excerpt from CCIM Institute’s 1Q2019 Commercial Real Estate Insights report titled “Long May You Run: An Essential Commercial Real Estate Tuneup.” For the full report, visit www.ccim.com/insights.

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RPR Offers RLI REALTOR® Members Valuable Resources Article Courtesy of RPR, by Andrea Goodhart

I had the pleasure of attending my first National Land Conference in New Mexico in March. I found RLI members to be engaged, knowledgeable, professional and truly focused on networking. Attendees seemed dedicated to learning from one another and determined to enhance their business and the industry as a whole.

The opportunity to represent REALTORS® Property Resource at NLC19 was very gratifying. I personally helped educate RLI members about the value of the RPR platform and the tools it offers as a REALTOR® member benefit of the National Association of REALTORS®. It was also great to hear from members that already have discovered the value of RPR and how they are using RPR in their daily business.

Yet, it’s so valuable to receive input on how we can make RPR even better for members and listen to how we can help you succeed. In addition, at every conference we attend, we speak with members that are very familiar with RPR, but also with both veterans and new members to the industry that are not familiar with RPR. We encourage members to explore and take advantage of the powerful tools that RPR has to offer REALTOR® members nationwide. And, we’re listening ~ we always want to hear how we can enhance RPR to help your business.

About RPR Established in 2010, REALTORS® Property Resource provides access to a comprehensive property data platform exclusively

for REALTOR® members. The data, reports and tools help agents do their job more efficiently, and helps them impress their clients with their industry knowledge and expertise.

When it comes to real estate, REALTORS® need access to accurate and reliable data quickly. Pulling together bits of market data here and there can be frustrating as well as time-consuming.

Agents need it all in one place, at the touch of a button.

RPR Tools, Data, and Reports RPR gives REALTORS® access to the nation’s largest property database. As a practitioner, all this data, and RPR’s tools and reports, offer a distinct edge when it comes to serving real estate business and investment clients.

The ability to reference reliable data that backs up your advice is critical to getting a deal done. At RPR, we work with the top data providers in the real estate space and are constantly researching new ones to ensure REALTORS® have the best data at their fingertips.

For example, in 2018 we partnered with SMR Research to provide tenant records, and a big focus for 2019 will be to expand our listing partners to some of the top national listing platforms. Below you can see a list of all our major data partners. This will hopefully give you a better understanding of how each partner plays an integral part in helping REALTORS® “piece” together their knowledge of the markets they work in.

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Valuate allows REALTORS® to ensure that a potential land development project makes sense before spending real money.

This is done through Valuate’s® back of the envelope or BOTE calculators.

RPR Data Resources All of this data is available nationwide.

This truly makes RPR one of the top research systems in the country!

• Public Record Property Data – Black Knight – Over 154 million parcels of property, including residential, commercial and land.

• Trade Area Data – ESRI 1 Billion data points highlighting key economic, demographic and spending indicators along with ESRI’s Tapestry Segmentations.

• Employment Data – 3DL – Updated monthly down to the county level • Business Points – ESRI 12,487,119 • Traffic Counts – Kalibrate Over 2,000,000 plus traffic points • Tenant Records – SMR Research – 8,531,568 • FEMA Flood Maps – PolicyMap – Nationwide coverage Let’s also review Listing and Sales data resources that RPR aggregates on the RPR platform. Listing data on the RPR platform is licensed with over 600 MLS 72

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(Multiple Listing Service), CIE (Commercial Information Exchanges) and other nationwide partners and represents over 700,000 total listings with 652,000 for sale and 118,000 for lease. As a user you can access the MLS/CIE listings that you are a subscriber to in addition to any listings that MLSs or CIEs share with all NAR REALTOR® members to view. If you are a member of one or more local MLSs or CIEs you can access this additional rich segment of data that is integrated within the public property record information.

A unique and powerful tool in RPR is the Trade Area report that can be useful to see community trends, demographic analysis and consumer spending data.

ESRI, an RPR partner and leader in GIS software, provides a significant portion of the analysis tools to generate these comprehensive reports that can quickly give the agent and client insight into a market area.

Land transactions can take many directions, whether for Residential or Commercial development, Recreational, Ranch and more. RPR’s partnership with

With this tool you can apply your knowledge of general construction costs, building time frames, market rents and much more to see if the stabilized NOI yield on cost makes sense to move forward under. This calculator is currently available for condominium, industrial, apartment and office developments with plans to expand into other property types in the near future.

RPR Mobile RPR Mobile™ combines the power of your smartphone or tablet, with the data and reporting from RPR®. This allows REALTORS® to easily locate any property around them, create and send company branded reports, and even view local market statistics. If your “office” at the moment is out on a ranch or on a dirt road in your truck, RPR is still there with you!

Use the app and your location to easily search and analyze on-and-off market properties, valuations, tax and mortgage info, distressed data, flood zones, mapping, demographics, schools, neighborhoods, and market trends.

Get Started With RPR Today!

The desktop version of RPR and RPR Mobile make it easy for agents to “wow” their clients and close more deals.

Looking to get started? Create your RPR account today by visiting www.narrpr.com. And remember, RPR is an exclusive benefit for REALTORS® and there is absolutely NO extra charge to access this vast amount of data.

To help jump-start your RPR learning experience visit our training resource page which offers webinars and on-demand video-learning. You can also visit our blog for a collection of helpful articles and howto’s by going to: blog.narrpr.com About the author: Andrea Goodhart joined RPR in 2011, as an Industry Relations Director with over 25 years of experience in the real estate services industry. Andrea has had the opportunity to work with real estate agents, brokers, association staff and leadership across the country and loves to be able to introduce the power of the RPR tools to practitioners.

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