I'd like to agree on that, but the reality is they won't even bother talking to anyone. Everything goes through the realtor, they don't seem to ever want anyone to show up without. On the way back from an outing with the kids, we swung by one and just parked on the street and looked and talked. The owner happened to be outside, and we got "You'll have to talk to the realtor if you want to see anything" then he just straight up went inside.

If I could find a better option for finding the sorts of farmers mentioned in the article who want people who will work the land and not just tear it up, I'd use it. I have yet to find one though.

I have heard of sellers picking a more ethical choice for a lower rate. But usually its only small amounts. Like selling a house for 230k instead of 240k because the first is a family and the second is a landlord.

For where I am there is a similar fee for the rezoning, but I don't think that matters to them at this point. Even with the 3-5 acre minimum plots some of the towns have.

I've seen a few straight up empty plots (no buildings but actively farmed) in the 20-80 acre range sell for millions, that sold less than 10 years ago in the $200k-$400k range. They've already been split up into new lots, starting price of the homes are $900k and up, not even built yet. The fee on the taxes is less than 10% of the sale price according to public records.