Posted by:
Brother Of Jerry
(
)
Date: September 20, 2023 04:35PM
First, ag land most certainly does not go for $200K an acre. I assume you meant residential land averages $200K per acre.
Approximately 20% of the land is going to go for infrastructure, mostly streets and sidewalks. So, not 5 houses per acre - maybe 4.
Lots next to a temple may go for a premium along the Wasatch Front. If anything, it is a detriment in the larger world. I don't see lots in Cody going for a big markup anytime soon.
Houses do
not leap from the ground fully formed, like the children of Zeus. Somebody has to build them. That costs money, So the sale of a house for $500K is hardly 100% profit. Or even 50%.
Oh, and bribes cost money. That comes out of the profit too. And the legal fees for the lawsuits. They cost money.
And it costs money to market, sell, and close on houses. And remember, these houses are probably selling at a discount because there is this monstrosity temple next door.
I'm not saying some money can't be made, but it is nowhere close to $700K per house. $100K maybe, maybe a little more.
Of the two "mission field" temples that I am familiar with, in Bismarck, ND and Winnipeg, MB, there really wasn't any land available nearby for the local Mormons to make money off of them. Bismarck was already pretty built up in the neighborhood of the temple, and in Winnipeg, the surrounding area is a large townhouse development on two sides of the triangular lot, all owned by a single developer, and the third side of the triangle is a strip mall, with a KFC, a nutrition supplement store, a salad restaurant, and a coffee shop. Across the street is a veterinary hospital and a provincial liquor mart. (temple is at NE corner of Kenaston Blvd, and North town Road, if you want to look it up)
They don't build temples because there is a real estate killing to be made. They build the temples because it increases tithing receipts, keeps the members brainwashed, and raises the profile of the church in the local community. Any supposed real estate profits are petty cash, and if it is the local members making this money, then the church is only getting 10% of petty cash.
This is a church that makes an estimated $7,000 million (aka $7 billion) in tithing receipts, and I'd conservatively estimate another $10,000 million (aka $10 billion) on growth of the $150 billion managed by Ensign Peak Advisors.
So lets hypothetically say they make $2 million per temple in local real estate profits from building a temple, times 20 temples (most of which are out of the US these days, so I doubt there is anywhere near the real estate opportunities).
That would be a hypothetical $40 million, raising the net income of the church for that year from $17,000 million to $17,040 million. That ain't nothin', but it ain't much, either. LDS Inc has much easier ways to make $40 million than to build 20 temples. (and that is all hypothetical - I seriously doubt they make anywhere near that much off temple construction).