ALC study guide
ALC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) designation is a professional credential in land real estate offered through the REALTORS® Land Institute. According to RLI, it is the only land-specific designation backed by the National Association of REALTORS®, and it is held by land professionals who specialize in agricultural land, timberland, ranch and recreational properties, or vacant land for development. The ALC study guide has 5 sections and about 1,697 words.
01Land Brokerage: Farms, Ranches, Recreational, Timberland, Vineyards, Orchards
Specialty land brokerage sells productive and amenity land, so value is driven by income, use, and resource attributes rather than by comparable house sales. A candidate must understand the core valuation drivers for each subtype.
378 words, about 2 min02Undeveloped, Transitional, and Development Land
Land moves along a continuum: raw/undeveloped → transitional (in the path of growth) → development-ready . The broker's job is to identify where a parcel sits and what the next buyer can legally and economically do with it.
319 words, about 2 min03Site Selection and Assemblage of Land Parcels
Assemblage is the process of combining adjacent or nearby parcels into a larger, more valuable whole - the plottage effect, where the combined value exceeds the sum of the parts. A candidate must understand why and when this works, and the traps that make it fail.
331 words, about 2 min04Appraisals and Land Valuation
Land appraisal uses the same three approaches as other real estate, but land-specific mechanics matter. A candidate must know which approach fits which land type and the traps in each.
342 words, about 2 min05Auctions and Farm and Land Management
Auctions convert land to cash on a defined timeline and can reveal market price through competitive bidding. A candidate must know the formats and the mechanics that protect the seller.
327 words, about 2 min