Is the County Paying a Premium?

By: Mr. Wilson on July 20, 2007
Geoffrey A. Coleman wants to know why the County is paying so much for land for a new jail. According to Coleman
(t)he published land price allegedly “negotiated” by the county is $60,164 per acre. The current county-mandated “market values” of industrial property immediately adjacent to the proposed site are between $19,047 and $43,666 per acre.
Can anybody explain the degree to which this is true, and how much it matters? At first blush the County's purchase price looks awful. To arms! But what is a "county-mandated market value"? Governments don't set market values, markets set market values. (Well, some governments around the world set "market" values, but let's not emulate them.) What do the "county-mandated market values" mean, and how do they relate to land purchases by private and public entities? Does anybody out there know the poop on this?

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foxspit
July 20, 2007 at 1:40PM

This is an excellent question and it’s strange that nobody but Coleman thought to ask it before now. I didn’t realize that the county had paid that much per acre.

The “county-mandated market values” might not be a good example. We should probably look at comparable recent sales in the same vicinity to get a feel for the real market value.

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