November 2017 Wallace’s Farmer “MarketPlace Extra”
This confirms the recent Iowa REALTORS® Land Institute farmland value survey that reported land values increasing 2.0% since March 2017, and 2.9% for the full year-over-year period. The relative sale price strength from neighborhood to neighborhood (or sale to sale) can seem somewhat inconsistent, depending upon the strength of the local neighborhood. The strongest values continue to be seen in the sale of top-quality farms with the highly productive soils, solid fertility and drainage, and high ‘farm-ability’ (e.g., large and square fields, few point rows, waterways/creeks/obstructions, etc.).
Investor interest in farmland continues to provide stability to the overall land market, as interest rates remain very low and there’s a general belief that farmland is a tangible asset and sound overall investment. That said, the current land market also has somewhat offsetting factors at play, such as low commodity prices, that create the potential for land price weakness. For owners concerned about farmland values dropping in the future, now may be a logical time to consider selling, as most farmland sales in any given year occur following fall harvest.
NORTHWEST
Pocahontas County:
171.8 +/- acres, west of Fonda, sold for $8,800 per acre. The farm had 167 +/- crop acres with a CSR2 of 84.4. The farm had primary soil types of Clarion, Webster, Canisteo, Nicollet and Harps. Corn PLC yield was 154 bu. and soybean yield was 42 bu.
NORTH CENTRAL
Floyd County:
80 +/- acres, located in Ulster Township, sold for $9,400 per acre. The parcel consisted of 77.8 crop acres with an average CSR2 of 92. The sale equaled $105/CSR2 point/crop acre.
NORTHEAST
Buchanan County:
78 +/- acres, located southwest of Quasqueton, sold for $8,100 per acre. The farm had a CSR2 of 81.1 on 70 cropland acres. The seller was a family farm, and the buyer was a local investor.
WEST CENTRAL
Greene County:
80 +/- acres, located near Jefferson, sold for $10,700 per acre. The parcel consisted of 78.5 crop acres with an average CSR2 of 85.7. The sale equaled $127/CSR2 point/crop acre.
CENTRAL
Story County:
138.9 +/- acres, located in Washington Township, sold for $8,600/acre. The parcel consisted of 127 +/- crop acres with an average CSR2 of 87.9. The sale equaled $107/CSR2 point/crop acre.
EAST CENTRAL
Cedar County
108 +/- acres, located southwest of Mechanicsville, sold at public auction in 2 parcels. Parcel 1 consisted of 38 +/- acres, including 34.6 cropland acres with a CSR2 of 92.9, and sold for $11,100/acre to a local farmer. Parcel 2 consisted of 70 +/- acres, including 65.8 cropland acres with a CSR2 of 90.4, and sold for $11,000/acre to a local investor.
SOUTHWEST
Taylor County:
232 +/- acres, near Bedford, sold at public auction for $3,775 per acre. The farm had 202 +/- cropland acres with an average CSR2 of 54. The sale equaled $80/CSR2 point/crop acre.
SOUTH CENTRAL
Lucas County:
181 +/- acres, northeast of Chariton, sold for $2,353 per acre. The farm consisted of 75 +/- cropland acres with an average CSR2 of 26.9.The balance of the farm was heavy timberland.
SOUTHEAST
Washington County:
159 +/- acres, southwest of Washington, sold at public auction for $8,750 per acre. The farm had 143 +/- cropland acres with an average CSR2 of 75.7. The primary soils were Nira and Mahaska. The sale equaled $129/CSR2 point/crop acre.
Hertz Real Estate Services compiled this list, but not all sales were handled by Hertz. Call Hertz at 515-382-1500/800-593-5263 or visit www.Hertz.ag.
