6 Key Takeaways: Instantly Identify Development-Ready Parcels with Acres Intelligence

For developers, builders, and acquisition teams, the land development process has long been slowed by manual filtering, zoning rabbit holes, and deals that look promising until they don't—wasting months of work.

In our recent webinar, Acres’ Founder and CEO Carter Malloy and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Aaron Shew demonstrated how Acres Intelligence is solving these challenges by giving teams the tools to find the right parcels faster, get clear answers on zoning without endless phone calls, and run comprehensive feasibility checks in minutes instead of weeks.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the webinar:

1. Your Competition is Already Using AI (01:38)

"Teams in your market, likely somebody you already compete with, are already using AI to validate sites faster, to look at more deals, and to avoid costly risks before they derail the deals." — Carter Malloy

Takeaway: While some teams are still relying on traditional manual processes, others have already embraced AI and are reaping the rewards: compressing weeks of research into minutes, finding parcels before competitors, and making faster go/no-go decisions. The question for your team isn't whether AI will impact land development, but whether you'll catch up to those already using it, or fall further behind.

2. AI is Only as Good as the Data Behind It (06:20)

"AI really is not that good if it doesn't have data. In fact, it's terrible when it doesn't have data. Every search, every answer, and every decision that Acres Intelligence delivers is only going to be as good as the data that powers it." — Aaron Shew

Takeaway: Acres Intelligence runs on a foundation of 150 million+ parcel records, 45 million+ land transactions, 60 million mortgages, and thousands of continuously updated map layers. Without comprehensive, current, and reliable data, even the most sophisticated AI is just guessing. That's why Acres is a data company first and foremost—so teams know they're working with the best data behind every decision.

3. Search Based on Your Specific Criteria (10:20)

"Your team describes exactly what they're looking for—acreage, flood, zoning, proximity to utilities, or consideration across thousands of other data layers—and the result is a short list of parcels directly aligned with your development plans, surfaced immediately." — Carter Malloy

Takeaway: Instead of manually clicking through maps and records, your team can now describe their criteria in natural language—whether it's 40-acre sites with certain flood and slope characteristics near Atlanta or three-acre vacant parcels within a mile of a Whole Foods in Northwest Arkansas—and get instant results. The more specific your criteria, the more precise your results.

4. Zoning Answers in Seconds, Not Days (15:20)

"With Acres Intelligence, your team can actually search based on a specific zoning criteria so you're only going to be looking at parcels that directly align with your intended land use from the start…When questions come up, whether it's classifications or restrictions or setbacks, your team's going to get those answers in seconds as opposed to days or weeks." — Aaron Shew

Takeaway: Getting zoning wrong costs time, money, and sometimes entire deals. Acres Intelligence eliminates the days spent calling planning offices and decoding dense PDFs. The system uses specialized zoning agents trained on proprietary zoning data, paired with web access to capture recent changes like moratoria or trends that shift weekly. Your team can instantly search based on specific criteria and get answers on classifications, restrictions, setbacks, impact fees, and permitting timelines.

5. Understand Local Sentiment Before You Commit (18:10)

"Through our partnership with Hamlet, Acres Intelligence now surfaces important sentiment changes across city councils so your team can see those shifts before they're surprises later in the deal process." — Aaron Shew

Takeaway: Through a partnership with Hamlet, Acres now surfaces rezoning sentiment by analyzing thousands of community meetings, videos, and council hearings every week. This helps you understand how municipalities feel about development and spot potential disruptions before they derail your project. Understanding how a municipality views development before you make your move can be the difference between a smooth approval process and a dead deal.

6. Surface Deal-Killers in the First Minute (20:30)

"With Acres Intelligence, your team is running a feasibility check with a single click. Instantly seeing things like flood zones, elevation, partial details, satellite history, and even skip tracing all in one central place. Every environmental, regulatory, and financial factor is connected in an easy to see interactive panel, so nothing gets missed and nothing is discovered too late." — Carter Malloy

Takeaway: The instant feasibility check pulls together data from dozens of sources that typically take days or weeks to compile: flood zones, elevation, satellite history, skip tracing, environmental factors, wetlands, soil profiles, underground storage tanks, conservation easements, and more. Everything is connected in one interactive panel, so fatal flaws are discovered before you deploy capital, consultants, or time—not after time and money are spent.

Final Thoughts

Acres Intelligence doesn’t replace your expertise—it amplifies it. Some of the largest home builders, data center companies, retailers, lenders, and brokerages in the country are already using these tools to find viable land faster, cut through zoning complexity, and make smarter decisions before it costs them.

Book a demo today to see what Acres Intelligence can do for your team.