For those of you interested in understanding some of the supply and demand issues around Water Rights in Nevada and the Colorado River Basin, as well as geo political wrangling, here are some links. If you would like own some Nevada Ground Water Rights, you need to call me, I have some very nice farm and ranch land listed with water rights.
California Recruits Water-Saving ‘Heroes' as Drought Drags On
Experts offer grim water outlook for NV, CA
Climate change to strain Colorado River
Lake Mead, Key Water Source For Southwestern US, Could Be Dry By 2021
Historic Colorado River Streamflows Reconstructed Back To 1490
Current Colo. River Basin dry spell could be worst in 500 years
STUDY SHOWS CURRENT DROUGHT BAD BUT NOT THE WORST UNLV 2004
Future Of Western U.S. Water Supply Threatened By Climate Change
Climate Change Means Shortfalls In Colorado River Water Deliveries
American West Heating Nearly Twice As Fast As Rest Of World, New Analysis Shows
PIPELINE PLANS: Judge kills water ruling
‘Owens Valley is the model of what to expect'
Vegas water agency vows fight for groundwater plan
Judge denies SNWA motion to block more comment
Nevada ruling could burst Las Vegas pumping plan
As you can tell there is plenty of science and opinion involved in these discussions. One thing seems clear to me, we are using or soon will be using more water than we have available. The opportunity to purchase irrigated farm and ranch land is today. The chances this land with water rights is going to get any less expense in the seems very slim. One day you will not be able to buy it any price.
Today's Investors are buying water rights. Who is buying these Water Rights?
Water Rights laws and use are complicated, yet many parcels with water rights are available today, some at very reasonable prices.
Chris W. Miller is a Nevada Farm and Ranch with Water Rights Specialist
at ERA Brokers Consolidated Mesquite, Nevada
702-346-7200 or 435-862-5951
ERA Brokers Consolidated
Mesquite NV 89027
chris@mesquitemarket.com
Recent water rights sale transactions in Nevadaincludes 35 shares of Virgin River surface water. There are about 10 acre feet per share under the Virgin River Share arrangement in the Mesquite and Bunkerville irrigation system.
"In 1961 water shares in the valley were worth $14 per share and you were a damn fool to buy them" stated Cecil Leavitt, a Virgin Valley board director. He went on to say "Today they are worth more than the land".
The final sale price for the 35 shares was $2,801,968 or about $80,056 per share. That translates to over $8000 per acre foot for surface water rights.
The surface water is not currently used by the buyer of the rights, Virgin Valley Water District as drinking water. Construction of a water treatment plant to purify the water will be required for the local rate payers to see any beneficial use from the purchase.
There are few reasons the district would go ahead with the purchase now, except the fact that if they did not buy the shares now, Southern Nevada Water Authority might. Once they are owned and headed to Las Vegas they would never be available in the Virgin River Valley again.
This story will play out across Nevada over and over in the next few years. Basins are being closed to additional allocations, additional permits are being denied. What currently exists will only increase in value. Demand continues to grow from domestic growth to agricultural needs and uses.
Funny to hear "you would have to have been a damn fool to pay $14 a share in 1961, and it just sold for over $80,000 ".
While few had the foresight then, the future of water rights in Nevada seems very clear today. What do you think they will be saying in another twenty years?
Chris W. Miller is a Nevada Irrigated farm and ranch land specialist; most of his currently listed properties have water rights. Call Chris today for more information. Ref:Mesquite Local News Oct. 22, 2009
Chris W. Miller
ERA Brokers Consolidated
Mesquite NV 89027
702- 346-7200
435-862-5951
When most people think of farm land and ranch property, they think open ranges, hay fields, cattle and cowboys riding horses.
Wall Street seems like a far off place in another world. A fast paced place driven by profit and greed.
It seems the classic contradiction, slower paced, straight talking, down to earth folks making their living off the land verses the Bernie Madoff and George Soros types.
Truth is, the story I am about to tell you just may be a little sad, because Wall Street is buying up the farm. Over the past few years investment power houses like BlackRock, and retirement plan giants like TIAA-CREF has been plowing money into farmland. In Nevada farm land generally means land with water rights, due to the arid climate.
These are smart people who are motivated by money and profit.
Here is the deal; the fundamentals are in place for a long term boom in prices for everything AG-related. Consider this; in 1960 there were 1.1 acres of arable farmland per person globally, according to data from the United Nations. By 2000 that number had fallen to .6 acres. Over the next 40 years the world population is projected to grow from 6 billion to 9 billion.
According to Joachim von Braun, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, "Land is scarce and will become scarcer as the world has to double food output to satisfy increased demand by 2050". "With limited land and water resources, this will automatically lead to increased valuations of productive land." Von Braun goes on to say, "It goes hand in hand with water, Water scarcity will probably increase even more than land."
Water in Nevada is today in short supply and clearly demand will outpace supply as they continue to close basins to new permits. Water rights in Nevada have another issue facing the dwindling supply, the demographic shift of the baby boomers to the more tax favorable warmer climate. Choices, decisions, are being made today, do we use the water for agriculture and food production, or do we pipe to Las Vegas for culinary use.
Farmers and ranchers want to stay in the business, but millions of dollars waved under their noses make it tough to say no to the sale. Many will stay on and lease to continue to live the lifestyle they love. These lease payments are cash flow on the investments. Could it be a win-win situation?
Commodities guru Jim Rogers says, "I'm convinced that farmland is going to be one of the best investments of our time."
Meanwhile, B.L. Harris, acting director of the Texas Water Resource Institute, knows well the problems of the Ogallala system. "The one big issue with regard to the Ogallala is the fact that the annual recharge is much, much lower than the extraction rate that we are putting on the aquifer at the present time. The aquifer is over-drafted to a substantial extent." The Ogallala is one of the world's largest aquifers covering 174,000 square miles; it runs from South Dakota to Texas. Some estimates say it will dry up in as little as 25 years.
Farmers are smart and they talk, they may wear overalls and talk funny, but farming is older than Wall Street. Water and food are the sources of life for the planet, demand is guaranteed to grow. There are few guarantees on Wall Street. Farming is a difficult business, but it is a fine tuned machine, executed right it is a profit opportunity.
Chris W. Miller is Nevada irrigated farm and ranch land specialist with ERA Brokers Consolidated. Chris has Nevada farms as small as 266 acres with ground water rights, to Nevada cattle ranches as large as 34,000 acres including rangeland leases, listed and available for sale. For information about Nevada farm and ranch land with water rights call Chris today 702-346-7200 or 435-862-5951
Chris W. Miller
ERA Brokers Consolidated
Mesquite NV 89027
702- 346-7200
435-862-5951
Fortune magazine, June 22, 2009 issue has a good article on "Why Farm Land is Hot". Why ETF's are investing today for the long haul on the food and water shortages in our future. From 1960 to 2000 the world went from over one acre of arable land per person to just over a half acre of arable land per person.
Growing populations and the shrinking supply of arable land will be a key focus of humanity as millions starve in the not too distant future. Water in many locations is the key to food production.
Water rights in Nevada are our most valuable resource. Irrigated agricultural land is available and the prices are increasing. Many basins in Nevada are closed to any future additional water rights, the supply side is very limited and will not increase. While demand continues to grow, with or without future housing developments.
We have cattle ranches with live springs filling stock tanks to water the cattle, and the ranch owns those water rights. We have sections of land with irrigation pivots watering grains like wheat and barley, as well as potatoes, and alfalfa. These irrigation pivots are fed from wells on the land and the farmers own those water rights.
Many farmers are willing to pay handsome lease payments to farm this ground, offering good rates of return to investors. You can own a half full strip mall with falling rents and potential future higher vacancy rates, or farm land with water rights.
If you have the means and are still not sure of the future demand, check out what the executives from some the nations largest agricultural companies have to say about the future demand.
Investing in agricultural land requires in-depth knowledge of local regulations, state agencies, soil quality, regional climate data and much more. Professional representation is critical to your investment success.
I have many properties available and each one is unique in use and potential. Call me today to discuss your needs and which property might fit your needs. Nevada Ranch Properties your source for quality agricultural land sales and services.
Chris W. Miller
ERA Brokers Consolidated
Mesquite NV 89027
702- 346-7200
435-862-5951
Mesquite Market Quarterly
Third Quarter 2009
By Chris W. Miller ABR, CRS, GRI
Sales are up and prices are down and falling!
Beware of pending home sales numbers, the conversion rate from pending to actually closed transactions is falling daily as deals blow up. Pending short sales in general are not closing. When you hear pending home sales, it is a misleading indicator.
In Mesquite we actually closed:
Median Price $ Per Square foot
39 Resale Homes $192,400 $113
13 New Homes $208,984 $125
15 Condos $87,500 $77
29 Town Homes $130,000 $88
Total 93 closed sales $150,900 $99
43 of the total 93 were distressed properties.
229 listings went out of the active inventory as failed. Active available listed residential property remained stable at around 400 with over 60% vacant.
221 new listings were added to active and 85 of those were distressed properties, either short sales or bank owned (REO) foreclosures. "Notice of defaults" continue to increase. Between Spet. 1 and Oct. 12 there were 54 NOD's filed in Mesquite, that is 9 per week!
2 vacant lots sold in Calais and averaged $125,000.
No commercial transactions closed. Vacancy remains at historic high rate in all catagories.
The market is averaging around twenty active resale listings at Sun City, but you would never know it since they do not allow signs, period, even inside your own window.
Over 50% of the current pending transactions are distressed properties. The banks are holding more and more real estate as defaults rise and individuals realize they are stuck as well. Unrealized bank losses are mounting as wealth evaporates.
The amount of shadow inventory is impossible to calculate. Based on unlisted bank owned property, defaults and failed listings, the number is far larger than the 400 active listings, maybe double.
Given the future uncertainty in taxation, health care costs, income, asset value growth, cost of living inflation, and home values retiring buyers have become increasingly cautious. The market is mainly being supported by high loan to value government backed FHA loans, and interest rate risk appears far greater than home price increases. Prices continue to fall.
There are seemingly good values available.......Buyer Beware!
Chris W. Miller
ERA Brokers Consolidated
Mesquite NV 89027
702- 346-7200
435-862-5951
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Mesquite Nevada Real Estate, 32+ Years Real Estate, Experience you can trust. Nevada farm and ranch land with water rights, irrigated land, cattle ranches, agricultural land. Market reports available
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