The prospective purchase of agricultural property will be motivated in a different way. Primarily, the buyer will be interested in the productive capabilities of the land. It is reasonable to assume that the buyer will be familiar, at least in a general way, with the productive capacity of the farm he proposes to buy. When the appraiser appraises agricultural property for local tax equalization purposes, he must rely heavily upon prices being paid for comparable farmland in the community and use the market data approach. When determining the land's productive capabilities, the land must be divided into various classes according to specific types and uses: tillable, pasture, woodland, and wasteland. The appraiser may then compute the acreage and value for each class individually or compute an aggregate price per acre that includes the amount and type of each class. The appraiser must consider soil types and each soil type's fertility and make an effort to use soil and land maps that are available through agriculture extension services and state universities.

The appraiser must also take into account the buildings on an agricultural property. Since the main purpose for a rural dwelling (like an urban dwelling) is to provide a family with a home, the appraiser should value a rural dwelling in the same way he values any other residence, with the market data approach. The appraiser's approach to other farm buildings, however, must be somewhat different. When appraising farm buildings, the appraiser's primary objective is to arrive at the value the building's presence adds to the land's productivity, and the building's degree of utility or usefulness.

The appraiser must equally consider all other factors that affect property value, such as the property's location relative to the marketplace, the property's relative accessibility, the topography of the land, the shape and size of the fields, the existence and condition of the fences, drainage, water supply etc.

The prospective commercial property buyer is primarily interested in the potential net return and tax shelter the property will provide. The price the buyer is justified in paying for the property is a measure of his prospects for a net return from his investment. Real estate as an investment must not only compete with other real estate, but also with stocks, bonds, annuities, and other similar investment areas.

The commercial appraiser must explore the rental market and compare the income-producing capabilities of one property to another. Thus, the commercial appraiser must rely heavily on the income approach to value to determine the net economic rent the property is capable of yielding and the amount of investment that is required to affect the net return at a rate investors would expect. The commercial appraiser must complete a comprehensive study of the income-producing capabilities of comparable properties and an analysis of present day investment practices. Because commercial property is not bought and sold as frequently as residential property, the commercial appraiser cannot establish the sales market as readily as for residential property.

The prospective industrial property buyer is interested in the overall utility value of the property. When evaluating the industrial property's overall utility, the appraiser must give individual consideration to the land and to each improvement on the property.

Industrial buildings are generally designed for a special purpose or operation and usually cannot be used for other purposes. The building will maintain its value as long as the building's purpose is still a vital operation. If the operation becomes obsolete, the building will also become obsolete.

The upper limit of the industrial building's value is the building's replacement cost new. The building's present day value is a measure of the building's present day usefulness in relation to the purpose for which the building was originally designed.

The industrial appraiser must rely heavily on the cost approach to value: determining the upper limit or replacement cost new of each improvement and the subsequent loss of value resulting overall from physical, functional, and economic factors.