In this episode of In Our Expert Opinion Podcast, host Tyler Davis sits down with the team leading Saunders Real Estate’s growing presence in the Carolinas. Bill Frisbie, Regional Managing Director for North Carolina, and Kenneth Chesson, Senior Advisor, discuss their backgrounds in farmland investment and rural land sales, as well as their growth strategy for the firm. They’re joined by Brandon DuRant, the firm’s Agriculture Managing Director, who shares his expertise in land management and ag services from his base in South Carolina.
Together, they explore the opportunities and challenges facing landowners in both states—from fragmented farm ownership and shifting commodity markets to rising interest in conservation, solar, and transitional land. The conversation also dives into how Saunders Real Estate is expanding its management and consulting platform to support landowners, REITs, and investors through boots-on-the-ground services that go far beyond brokerage.
Below are excerpts from the episode. Listen above for the full podcast.
Bill Frisbie, Regional Managing Director at Saunders Real Estate in North Carolina
What is the future of Saunders Real Estate in the Carolinas? (Bill) What we're trying to model is Georgia. Georgia was the first expansion state for Saunders–Bryant Peace got that off the ground in 2017-2018, and Austin Fisher has been critical in growing that business as well. Kenneth and I have had a lot of discussions with both of them in terms of how they modeled Georgia, how they grew it, and scaled up. What we liked was that it was quality over quantity, and that's still the case. They're looking to bring on great brokers, get up to 10 to 12 really solid guys that know their regions, know their territories, know their land use, have some specialty in that, and then cross-pollinate between each other.
That is, effectively, what we're trying to do here in Eastern North Carolina. It's going to start with Raleigh to the coast, and then we'll head west into the Piedmont region and over to the mountain region. Right now, we're pretty far down the path with a transitional land broker who is looking to join us. We've had a good meeting with him, and that'd be a good compliment to what Kenneth and I do, which is more rural.
Brandon DuRant, Agriculture Managing Director at Saunders Real Estate
The other element that we're working on right now is that we've got one gentleman strongly considering joining us on the new referral program that Tyler has been developing with Bryant. It allows brokers out there who have a lot of relationships and who are looking to semi-retire, or potentially fully retire, to still monetize those relationships that they have and come under the Saunders Real Estate umbrella.
What is the ag economy in South Carolina? (Brandon) Corn is probably the biggest commodity crop, but poultry is number one in South Carolina. Whether it be turkey or chickens, that's our number one ag commodity that comes out of there. We're also seeing a lot of development where I grew up in Orangeburg. That whole I-26 corridor between Orangeburg and Charleston now is just heavily, heavily developed. What was once pine forest is now homes.
Kenneth Chesson, Senior Advisor at Saunders Real Estate
We got a new peanut facility that has come alive in Santee, South Carolina. So, a lot of growers, for the first time, are growing peanuts in their operations that are close by. You've got a lot of conservation opportunities, whether it be conservation easements or potential in a wetland mitigation, with DOT continuing to expand and redo a lot of roads through South Carolina.
Scale can be a bit of a problem throughout the Carolinas. I think it's a great opportunity, though, for an investor who's looking to maybe buy smaller tracks, assemble them together, and kind of have the aggregation-based type approach to it, and really diversify what you could have in a grower out there. We've got a lot of specialty crops, especially in the Pee Dee region of the state. We got a lot of greens, a lot of sweet potatoes, a lot of other smaller crops like that, but you could really make a nice portfolio.
How is North Carolina divided? (Kenneth) In North Carolina, you kind of get three states in one with the different regions. Down east, I'm on the verge of what we call the “Blacklands.” From Highway 17 back east, you've got the big open farm grounds, and there’s corn, soybeans, and then you get your vegetables. They do a lot of Mattamuskeet sweet onions and potatoes, and certain areas plant sage and string beans, so you get a diverse mix. Of course, we got cotton and peanuts. Once you get west of where I am, you get your smaller tracks.
(Bill) As you get towards I-95, it's going to get rockier, and it sort of transitions, as you get to Raleigh in the west, to what they call “the Piedmont region.” The story of the Raleigh region right now is growth–just land coming out of production, whether it's timber or ag, and going into development, but there are still a lot of vibrant farming regions in this area.
Then you head west, and you get into the rolling hills of the Piedmont that lead into Charlotte. West of there is the mountain region, similar to South Carolina. The world's largest high-grade quartz mine is in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, out there in the west.