Land Value

[DelMN]

I'm looking at selling 40 acres of farmland in SW MN. It is very flat, tiled, and no rocks. 2022 yields were 225 bu corn, and 70 bu soybeans. The bushels per acre was actual bushels at the elevator not the highest spot number on the combine. I am wondering what the value is. What are the land values in your area and where are you located.

 

[redforlife]

If your place is free of timber, and is basically all cropland acres (no hay ground), it'd easily bring 10k an acre where I'm located. I'm guessing that might be a low ball evaluation. I'm outside of any kind of a prime dirt zone, and not to far away from a dry zone.

 

[RJKeith]

Try searching Zillow or some other one-line real estate site and look for similar properties near you. If there are none close by, find some further away and then look at for similar properties in the same area verses where your property is so you can see what the difference is. For example, no 45 acre farmland close by, but 1500 sq ft house on 10 acres. So you find 50 acres of farmland in a neighboring state, then find a 1500 sq ft house on 10 acres close by, see what the difference is with the 1500 sq ft house near you, and use that ratio to adjust the price of the 50 acres to get an idea of what your land is worth. Not exact, but it should get you in the ballpark.

 

[John T]

My location is more hilly and not prime farmland, however, LAND VALUES KEEPS RISING year after year regardless of economic conditions. I bought and sold several farms over many years and they ALL increased in value over time.... As far as YOUR land value you might want to consider opinions and appraisals from LOCAL realtors, farmers, bankers, and other experts. What the values in OTHER parts of the Country and what the fine gents here on YT Mag (especially those outside your location) think may or may not be accurate FOR YOUR AREA, but its YOUR land and YOUR choice so my advice is DONT SET THE PRICE TOO LOW and seek out LOCAL appraisals in addition to any YT Mag opinions ......... My GUESS absent any research or knowledge of land values in YOUR location is lets say $10,000 per care ???? Maybe more maybe less, Heck if I know lol .........

Best wishes, good luck, I hope you receive all its worth

John T Still in Covington LA

 

[coonie minnie]

I'd speak with a local bank or farm credit in your area to get an idea of recent sales of like properties.

 

[NY 986]

Just let it be known at the local diner you were wondering what land was worth and people will be banging on your door. Then you will have some idea. Sure, there will be some low ball guys out there but then there will be guys who have to have it at any cost. Comparing my area to yours would be like comparing apples and oranges and I imagine it would be true for 99 percent of the posters on here. If you thought that you could trust the local banker or realtor then you could ask them. But anymore it is fairly probable they are working on the behalf of some farmer other than you and will not give you a good idea. I remember back during the 1970's and 1980's a BTO here had a brother who ran a real estate agency. If somebody listed land with him it always became a matter of he could not get any offers other than the low ball one from his brother. The BTO also reputedly stuck money in the pockets of loan officers at Farm Credit that any competing offer could not get financing through Farm Credit. Move slowly so people will know you will not take the first offer made. Any developments nearby or industrial parks to get a non-farm value?

 

[rrlund]

There was 73 acres in western Iowa, no buildings, no wind mills, no development potential, just a week or two ago. Sold for $30,000 an acre. That's not one too many zeros, the parcel brought over 2 million.

 

[centash]

Similar land here in Southern Ontario with similar yield potential would bring 25000 CAN per acre....
Ben

 

[Tony in SD]

Banks that specialize in farmland loans in your area would have a pretty good idea what the going price of land. So Id ask them first. There is almost always one guy who has to have it at any cost. That could change things in your favor.

 

[NY 986]

Banks that practice high ethics will be a help. Those that do not or have a dog in the land market fight are of little help. I've seen or heard of too many compromised lenders and realtors to not tell someone to go in fully aware that these quote unquote professionals may not be working on your behalf. Anymore, the farm equipment dealers and fertilizer dealers are not much better. Know who is related who in the local ag business community.

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Home and land auctions are big in my area,you can check out actual selling prices not just what someone guesses.

 

[Blksmok]

Contact Sullivan Auctioneers. They are big into farm land auctions. They can tell what land had actually sold for in your area. They have a office in Bird Island,Mn.

 

[sotxbill]

location is everything. If your near a city or river, your land is worth gold. If your in the middle of no where the land is worth ten times less.. even on farmland in my county. And if you have a rich ambitious neighbor, its worth a bit more. Farm land in the east county gets lots of rain. Land in the west county do not. SO a lot of research is critical in this case.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Typically around here if sold at auction land is sold in parcels, then lastly all in one place and which ever way it brings most buys it. Most sales are all selling to farmers in one chunk who are outbidding the developers. Farmland here is l more or less 50% tillable and recent sales have been 8500 to 15,000 per acre less buildings.

 

[charlie n]

Go with Blksmok advice. They sell a lot of ground in your area. Seems that they can get good money at auction.

 

[flying belgian]

Last piece near me last August in Nicollet County was 115 acres all tillable, one piece. $12,700/acre.

 

[Philip d]

It rarely comes up for sale here in PEI Canada but when it does its still under $10 000/ac.

 

[paul]

Been selling 9-12,000 an acre around here.

Location, type of ground, and all that can make such a huge difference.

If it is close to 2 different livestock operations they will bid extra for the close manure use.

Paul

 

[paul]

Most counties in Minnesota are also online with land transactions and property values, so you can look up any recent sales in the area.

Paul

 

[showcrop]

Around here the towns' assessing companies link it onto the towns' websites

 

[jhwis]

Can someone tell me how numbers like 10,000+ an acre ever pencil out?

 

[coonie minnie]

They don't. But here's the other side of the coin... my grandfather bought land in 1963 for $80-100 an acre. It added a lot of debt for the time, and the payment was a burden. I'm not sure I could rent the parcel for a year for double that today. Long term, it worked out well.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

"Long term it worked out well."

There isn't a term long enough for things to work out well if you're paying $10,000 an acre.

 

[paul]

Back in the 80s the land across the road from me was foreclosed, banker eventually offered it to dad for about $1000. It didnt pencil out at that, we were losing money on every bu we grew.....

Someone bought if for under $900 I believe.

Now its worth $10,000 I suppose.

Dang.

Well, farming is always cycles. Decade long cycles.

Best to buy low and sell high.

But as long as you dont get caught selling low and buying high, you will probably be able to do ok.

If you have a bunch of cash to throw at $12,000 land, it works here pretty good at todays prices, even a little lower.

If you need to borrow more than 50%, then it looks like a terrible losing deal..... pledge all your assets into the loan collateral and you are really trying to climb a steep mountain!

I bought a few acres for $7-8,000 an acre in the last decade. Put $850 an acre of tile into it the first year.

It has been a good thing, money maker; but I hit the right timing on crop prices. If prices had dropped to a bit below average then Id be working hard to stay even!

Long term cycles, need to average what you are doing, good years and bad years..l.

Paul

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Place within sight of me divided up,average price per acre $60,000.Keeps getting harder all the time not to sell here and move over to WVA.

 

[NY 986]

At 60,000 per acre that is not even farming money. That is big business or otherwise with somebody that has more money than what they practically know what to do with. I don't even know how you get started today. Most large acreage operations around here have silent partners with very deep pockets.

 

[SDE]

Her Dad had about 120 acres in Illinois, just south of the Wi border. The land, with a house a women would not live in, is valued at 435K.

 

[d282]

a flat 40 acres in Central Iowa just sold for $20,800 an acre. With those prices I will never be able to buy a farm.

 

[RBnWA]

JH Dad always said figures don't lie but liars figure. Nuff said. RB

 

[flying belgian]

There are 2 ways it pencils out. First is it enables you to maybe rent the 200 acres down the road. People don't like to rent their farm to someone who is not a land owner in the area.
Second you can sell it 3 years from now for 12,500.

 

[db4600]

Stearns/ Meeker 8-10K for good dirt. I would bet Kandiyohi/ Pope/ Sibley is higher as you see more beet and edible ground that way. Steffes might be an appraisal option.

 

[EFV]

you're saying D paid off Production Credit loan officers ?
J's real estate business steered all sellers to his brother ?
That's a stretch,even for those two. Big W dairy farm paid close to 10K at auction for ground close to you.

 

[NY 986]

Given the touchy nature of this I can't reveal identities even decades after this went on. Still a very sensitive and volatile matter for a fair number of people around here. Maybe someday we can meet up to perhaps discuss it in more detail. Trying to think who Big W is around this area. As to Farm Credit one of the VP's out of the local office stopped out on a fence mending visit around 25 years ago and let it be known a couple of loan officers were reassigned over it.

 

[tomstractorsandtoys]

Today in southwest WI a 170 acres with 167 or so tillable of good highly productive land sold for $15,500 per acre. No buildings. Tom

 

[Naylorbros]

$500,000 to $600,000 an acre. Going to houses.

 

[2x4]

mid Tenn. - good cropland & pasture - riverfront $7000/ac. this week.