DETERMINATION OF THE VALUE OF REAL ESTATE 201
from consideration the economic features which determine
whether and to what extent the enterprise which involves the
acquisition of the land can be made profitable. It may make
it impracticable to get before the court that information which
a prudent purchaser would seek when making up his mind
relating to the price which he would be justified in paying.
The presentation, then, in court of the evidence on which the
valuation of real estate is to be based is not always a simple
matter. The information wanted is the market value. The
expert who testifies to value must inform himself what the
value is, all purposes for which the property is suitable being
taken into account. Recent court rulings appear, as above
shown, to be against allowing evidence which will show the
value in money for any special purpose.
The local dealer in real estate who knows what sales have
been made in recent years and who knows or is supposed to
know the effect that the adaptability of any particular tract of
land to a particular purpose has upon the market value of that
land is, according to such rules of procedure, the proper value
expert. His opinion relating to the money value of an island
for boom purposes, or of a tract suitable for a dam site or for a
reservoir site or for some other public use, is allowed to go before
the judge or jury that fixes the value while the trained engineer-
ing expert who may have made a careful analysis of all eco-
nomic features involved but who may have no knowledge of the
land value for other than one special purpose, is not allowed to
testify to the value which the same property would have for the
special use to which it is about to be put for the benefit of the
public. He is restricted to a statement of the nature of such
use and may present facts relating thereto but he must not
express an opinion relating to value in terms of money unless
he is in a position to say that he has given consideration to all
possible uses.
This rule of the courts is intended to stop the introduction of
evidence too speculative and remote in character. The possi-
bility of growing a special crop at an estimated annual profit
