Two acres of farm land are lost every minute...

Okay- We are all familiar with urban sprawl. It is not new. As a Realtor, you must know what is occurring in your individual trade area. We are the professional clients come to for information. How many of your clients ask for a "country setting"? Honestly, that is the majority of my calls!

Alarmingly, the US is loosing 2 acres per minute to development. This is all development (not just homes). At this rate, we loose 172,800 acres per day. If you live near a major metropolitan city, where does this level of development leave your area in a year, five years or even ten?

Progressive Farmer Magazine (not a farmer, but they have great articles for land owners) has a great article on this subject this month.

www.progressivefarmer.com/tabid/1467/default.aspx

I love seeing new homes (more business!), but we need to evaluate your market to recognize these changes occurring and how they impact you as a real estate professional. As growth occurs, clients needs and desires will change. It is easy to look a few counties north- just ten years ago they were primarily farms and rural settings. Now they are Starbucks, traffic, and congestion.

As of today, Pike County, GA is the 78% Fastest Growing County in the US per AJC article. Georgia has 20 of the Top 100 Fastest Growing Counties in the US.

Has your "open range" become an urban jungle in the past ten years?

Farm House in Pike County, GA - Agriculture is primary industry

Taken by Beth Camp