Land prices in the month of October 2020 were mostly higher. We had multiple successful land auctions with the High Point of the month being a quarter section in Grundy County, IA selling for $12,138/ac. This farm sold for $137/ CSR2 point. We also had many successful listings and online/live auctions giving us a very good idea of what the market is currently doing in response to Covid, interest rates, commodity prices, and the upcoming election.
The driving factors for sellers were estate acquired property, election concerns, bank acquired property, and relocation of quality hunting or tillable land. Driving factors for buyers were expansion or consolidation of tillable acres, taking advantage of low interest rates, stock market exits, cash investors expanding into more tillable acres close to current holdings, and buyers expanding hunting land acres or exodus from Urban areas of the country.
Prices for hunting and rural recreational land properties are ranging from $2,500-$9,000/ acre and here is why: when buyers are looking for land, they have an experience planned for the use of that property. It may be to harvest a world class 200 inch whitetail, catch a trophy brown trout out of a private stream, build a dream home 15 minutes from work, sit on a porch and have coffee over a pond or shut a gate and disappear for a month. If you look at different types of recreational land, you have land that is not tillable for one reason or another to have remained non-tillable. These acres might be very steep, have bottom or top access only, flood, may/may not be buildable, be restricted by easement, effected by upwind livestock confinement, or be surrounded by great/not so great neighbors. There are many variables as you can see between the properties and what creates urgency to purchase at the price when offered for sale.
Farmland is very much the same establishing a price based on quality. Farmland this month ranged from $1,750-$12,138 per acre. A few questions are: is it wet, can it be tiled effectively, what is the soil quality, how far from markets is it, what is the fertilizer and crop yield history, is it effected by perpetual easement, is it in the path of development, and what is the tenant market available.
As you can see there is a huge range in land prices for many more reasons than listed here. A property can have a difference of hundreds to thousands of dollars per acre right across the fence. The price of getting a true professional on your side should always more than pay for itself at the end of the day.
If you or someone you know is interested buying or selling a property in the future contact one of our agents today. They are very connected and educated on the topic of land and would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Good luck in the outdoors and have a safe and bountiful harvest.
What is Land Selling for This Month
