Iowa Land Auction Prices, January 27- February 2, 2017

Greetings!  Fewer acres were offered at auction this week compared to last week’s results.  There was a total of 790 acres offered at auction.  Of those acres, there were 627 tillable.  All farms were sold and there were no “no sales.”  I would describe the land market as very stable and maybe even gaining some strength.  Here are the highlights:

• 156 acres sold in Adams County- $4,000/acre- 59 tillable acres- CSR2- 57.0 (Nodaway River Bottom pasture farm)
• 300 acres sold in Ida County- offered in three tracts:
  • Tract 1- 92 acres- $9,050/acre- 87 tillable acres- CSR2- 79.0 (Maple River Bottom)
  • Tract 2- 78 acres- $5,200/acre- 75 tillable acres- CSR2- 53.0
  • Tract 3- 133 acres- $7,550/acre- 130 tillable acres- CSR2- 62.0
• 167 acres sold in Montgomery County- offered in two tracts:
  • Tract 1- 104 acres- $9,000/acre- all tillable- CSR2- 83.0
  • Tract 2- 63 acres- $4,600/acre- 19 tillable acres- CSR2- 31.0 (older cattle feedlot with pond-pasture-cropland).
• 164 acres sold in Henry County- offered in two tracts:
  • Tract 1- 82 acres- $10,100/acre- 79 tillable acres- CSR2- 87.0
  • Tract 2- 82 acres- $8,050/acre- 74 tillable acres- CSR2- 81

It was a very short week for land auctions, which is proof of the low supply of land for sale currently.  The land market is seeing some growth.  Investors are very active in the market.  As I visit with realtors, they state that auction prices are exceeding expectations and several farms are not leased out for the 2017 crop year.  There is still a lot of pent up demand to buy and rent land with limited supply.  Thus land prices and rents are not showing any weakness and may even be gaining strength.

“That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!”  Please check back next week to see what the Iowa land market is doing.

Jim “the Land Talker”

@TheLandTalker
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