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If you're in the land business, you already know how important it is to price properties correctly—whether making an offer, sending a mailer, or listing your land for sale.
The new AI Comp Report in The Land Portal is changing the game for land investors by delivering fast, data-driven price insights that eliminate guesswork.
Here are four smart ways top investors are using this tool to make better decisions, close better deals, and avoid costly mistakes:
1. Negotiating with Sellers in Real Time
Ever had a seller throw out a price that catches you off guard?
Instead of guessing or responding on instinct, you can pull up an AI Comp Report in seconds. It gives you a data-backed price estimate based on:
- Nearby sales
- Acreage
- Location
- Topography
Investors are using this right before or even during seller calls to respond with confidence. You can say:
“Here’s what similar properties are actually selling for.”
This helps you build credibility, negotiate from a position of strength, and avoid overpaying just because the seller tossed out a high number.
2. Strategically Pricing Blind Offer Mailers
The old way of sending out a direct mail campaign was to manually dig up comps or rely on ballpark estimates.
The new way is to use the TLP Estimate from the AI Comp Report.
This tool goes deeper than basic price-per-acre metrics, and it factors in all kinds of critically important factors, like:
- Slope
- Wetlands
- Road access
- Terrain
- Tree coverage
It will list out all the most relevant comps based on the proximity to your subject property, how long ago they sold, property characteristics and more.
Coming soon: the TLP Estimate will be automatically included with every record you export, saving you hours of manual pricing and increasing your accuracy.
You can also click into each comp to inspect the property visually, helping you avoid landlocked or unusable parcels that can skew your offer prices.
3. Setting Your List Price After You Buy
After you close on a property, the next big decision is: What do I list it for?
Instead of guessing or leaning on outdated comps, investors are using these Comp Reports to:
- Review sales of similar parcels in the last 6–12 months
- Avoid overpricing (and long days on market)
- Avoid underpricing and leaving profit on the table
This is especially helpful if you're working with a realtor or listing on sites like Land.com or Zillow.
Solid comp data gives your price credibility and justification and leads to faster sales with better ROI.
4. Doing a Final Due Diligence Price Check
Before you fund a deal or close on a purchase, it’s wise to double-check that your buy price still makes sense, because markets change fast!
By running an AI Comp Report as part of your final due diligence, you can confirm whether your target price still leaves room for a healthy margin.
It's a fast, low-cost way to do a last-minute value check without waiting for a full appraisal or third-party opinion.
Pro Tip: Pair It with the Slope Report
Want even more clarity? Combine the AI Comp Report with the Slope Report in The Land Portal. You can generate as many of each type of report as you want at no extra cost!
This gives you a full view of both price and usability, helping you confidently move forward on each deal.
Ready to Use It?
The AI Comp Report is one of the most powerful tools in The Land Portal right now. Whether you’re making an offer, sending a mailer, listing a property, or finalizing a deal, this report gives you the data edge you need.
Seth,
This all sounds great, but the slope report is pretty much useless and more of a “toy” or gimmick
I use it all the time and have run these reports on over 1,000 parcels.
But, please do not take my word for it – you can prove it to yourself.
First of all, they “demo” this for land that is in the middle of nowhere and ask you to trust that the red area on their software is the “only” buildable area.
The problem with that is that there is absolutely no way to verify what they are saying is true or that their “toy” is accurate – that is, when dealing with land in the middle of nowhere.
However, there is a sure way to test it.
Go to a subdivision that has a variety of terrain – sloped lots.
Do this analysis on a number of vacant lots and there is a great chance the “toy” will say it is not buildable or only about 100 square foot in the far back corner is buildable. So, naturally you would shy away from that lot.
But, do NOT stop there.
In the same subdivision, go to lots that actually do have houses on them.
You will find two things – the “toy” says that lot is not buildable, and second, if you were to build on the lot, there is a tiny place on that lot that the software says you can actually build a house.
But, you will find that over 90% of the time that where the actual house is on the lot is not one of the places that their “toy” says is buildable.
If this was truly accurate, you would get a much greater correlation between where the house is built and what part of the lot is actually buildable.
I know what you are going to say – well you can build almost anywhere.
The point is, in that neighborhood, builders, and people, are willing to build houses on parts of the lots that the “toy” says is not buildable – it is not just 5% to 10% of the time – it is over 90% of the time.
So, I personally do not rely on the “toy” – I do not think that it is ready for prime time, and certainly does NOT do what they claim it does.
Like I said, I have used it to do the analysis on way over 1,000 lots, and this is exactly what I have found to be true.
Please don’t take my word for it – try to do what I said for yourself.
Look at lots in Pennsylvania of any number of other locations that have subdivisions with uneven terrain.
Thank you for all you do to make the land community a lot better (no pun intended).
I always appreciate and value what you have to say.
With warmest regards.
George J. Hanko III
Hey George – thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience and observations here.
You’re right that The Land Portal (and specifically the slope report feature) is not the final authority on buildability or due diligence. It’s not meant to replace an on-site visit, professional topo survey, or expert opinion, especially when a property is being seriously considered for development.
As I see it, tools like this are still useful as a first pass, a way to quickly spot potential red flags and help investors decide which properties are worth deeper investigation. In that sense, it’s more of a filtering tool than a final verdict. I think you’ve done a great job of highlighting why it’s important not to over-rely on it, especially in areas with known inconsistencies.
I really appreciate your kind words and your contribution to the discussion!