Common Pitfalls You Should Watch Out For – Instant Access Savings Accounts
There are many factors to consider when approaching the valuation of an asset; the relationship between supply and tangible demand, the availability and affordability of credit to enable this demand, the earnings generated by the asset and the cost of generating that income. However, as with any asset, Investors should primarily consider the price to earnings ratio of farmland to identify the cost of each unit of income.
There is no perfect set of rules, and picking a strategy depends largely on personal choice and intuition.
The profitability of farmland can be measured simply by deducting the combined cost of ownership (mortgage interest), and of production (manpower, fuel, fertilizers seed etc.), from the revenue generated by way of the sale of the crops produced. It should therefore be noted that agricultural commodity prices play a crucial role in ascertaining land values. It is the influence of agricultural commodities that have to a large extent generated the recent gains in farmland prices in the UK, particularly during 2007 and 2008 when commodities were experiencing unprecedented highs. There are of course a number of other factors at play but a pure investor should look mainly at earnings and costs for a picture of the real value, regardless of asking prices. Using this methodology also quickly identifies over-pricing where the cost of ownership and production are close to, or outweigh income.
Supply also affects farmland values, and in areas where there is a high level of availability prices are likely to be lower than in areas where availability of good land is suppressed, either through a lack of sellers or an actual lack of existing land. In any agricultural economy the highest yielding land is taken into production first as it is the most profitable. Where profitability of the land in two different areas is similar, the availability of farmland explains much of the variation in prices.
The second basic type is called Active investing; in which stock is bought low and sold when it has been thought to have peaked. The basic theory is ‘buy low, sell high’. How well the ‘day trader’ theory works out depends a lot on how skilled the research staff and manager are; because an unsound theory or method followed may cause serious financial loss.
Outside of this apparently simple relationship between farm profits (or rents), farmland availability and farmland values, one must also factor in the price of the commodities produced, which are also set by supply and demand. Therefore, to make a qualified projection of future farmland values, one must also have a clear understanding of trends in agricultural commodity prices.
It is worthwhile to note that these are only the two basic types; there are many different variations as well as different theories and formulae to predict market trends. None of these are 100% accurate, and some of them are a little better than coin tossing or superstitions.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only, and aims to help people think about their personal finances in more details. It may contain errors and the author takes no responsibility for any losses or problems incurred as a result of the information contained within the article. Do your own research before investing!
Hi readers my name is Harris Smith, thanks for reading this article I hope I will be useful to find home equity line of credit
December 20, 2010 | Posted by Harris Smith
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