A builder is not buying your acreage. They are buying the number of finished lots they believe they can get approved, minus what it costs to get there.
When a developer looks at a hundred acre farm, they are not thinking in acres. They are working out how many buildable, approvable, sellable lots come out the other end after roads, stormwater basins, setbacks, open space requirements and unbuildable ground are taken off, then subtracting the cost and the time of getting approvals. The residual is what they can pay.
That is why two farms of the same size in the same county can be worth very different money as development ground, and why a farm owner who prices on acreage alone is usually either disappointed or leaving money behind.
Outside public sewer areas, the percolation test is the gatekeeper. Each proposed lot needs soil that will accept a septic system, tested and approved by the township sewage enforcement officer. Ground that fails is not a lot, however nice it looks.
Sellers sometimes ask whether to perc the ground before listing. There is a genuine trade off. Passing tests in hand remove a developer's biggest unknown and can lift both price and certainty substantially. But failed tests are a matter of record and cannot be unlearned, and a run of failures will depress what anyone offers. On ground you have good reason to believe will pass, testing first usually pays. On marginal ground it is often better to let a buyer carry that risk inside a due diligence period and price accordingly.
Nearly every Pennsylvania farm large enough to interest a developer is enrolled in Clean & Green, and converting farmland to housing is unambiguously a change of use.
Rollback is seven years of the tax difference plus six percent simple interest, and because a change of use on any portion of an enrolled parcel can trigger it across the whole parcel, the number on a large farm can be substantial. The sale itself does not trigger it. The buyer's change of use does, which means the liability can fall on either side depending entirely on how the agreement of sale is written. This is not a detail to leave to the closing agent. Thirty days notice to the county assessor is required before the change of use, and split offs from an enrolled parcel are limited to two acres per year. The full mechanics are in the Clean & Green guide.
Pennsylvania has preserved a great deal of farmland, and if a conservation easement is recorded against the property, development is generally off the table permanently regardless of zoning. The recorded deed of easement controls, and it runs with the land through every future sale.
This matters in both directions. If you own a preserved farm, it is not development ground and should not be priced or marketed as though it might become so. If you are buying ground to develop, confirm the easement status at the courthouse rather than relying on the listing. See preserved farms. An Agricultural Security Area designation is a weaker but still relevant restriction worth checking at the same time.
On lot yield, not acreage. A developer estimates how many approvable lots the ground will produce after roads, stormwater, setbacks, open space and unbuildable area are deducted, then subtracts the cost and the time of obtaining approvals and installing infrastructure. What is left is what they can pay. Zoning density, sewer availability and topography therefore matter far more than total acres.
It depends on how confident you are in the soils. Passing tests remove a buyer's largest unknown and usually lift both price and certainty. Failed tests, however, become a matter of record and cannot be undone, and a string of failures will hurt every subsequent negotiation. On ground you have good reason to think will pass, testing first generally pays. On marginal soils it is often wiser to let the buyer take that risk within a due diligence period.
Seven years of the difference between preferential and market assessment, plus six percent simple interest. On a large farm that can be a significant sum, and because a change of use on any portion can trigger rollback across the entire parcel, developing part of a farm can expose all of it. Your county assessment office can calculate the actual figure for your parcel, and you should get that number before you negotiate rather than after.
Whoever the agreement of sale says. There is no default that protects you. The sale itself does not trigger rollback; the buyer's change of use does, which is why developers will often accept the liability, but only if it is negotiated. Leaving it unaddressed is how sellers end up with an unexpected bill after settlement.
Generally no. A recorded agricultural conservation easement runs with the land permanently and overrides what zoning would otherwise allow. There are very limited provisions in some programs for a small number of residences for family or farm workers, but a preserved farm is not development ground and should never be marketed as a future development opportunity. Always confirm easement status at the courthouse.
Longer than almost any other land transaction. Developers typically want a due diligence period of six to eighteen months to pursue subdivision and land development approval, and settlement is usually contingent on obtaining it. Some agreements run on option structures with extension payments. If you need a quick sale, a developer is probably not your buyer, and a neighbouring farmer may well be.
Sometimes, and far less often than people assume. It depends entirely on zoning, sewer availability and where the township sits relative to growth. Prime Lancaster County farmland reaching 30,000 to 38,000 dollars an acre as farmland is already priced beyond what many residential schemes can support. Marginal ground in a growth township with public sewer can be worth multiples of its agricultural value. The only way to know is to look at the specific parcel.
The deed, the most recent survey, the current zoning and any zoning history, written confirmation of sewer and water availability and capacity, any existing perc or soil test records, any wetland delineation, the Clean & Green enrolment and an estimate of the rollback, and confirmation of whether any easement or Agricultural Security Area designation applies. Having these ready shortens due diligence and strengthens your position.
The answer depends on zoning, sewer and the rollback number, not on acreage. I will help you find out before you talk to a developer.
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