Iowa farmland values down more than 8%
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
Farmland values in parts of the U.S. Midwest are down according to an Iowa survey.
The Land Trends and Value Survey, completed by the Iowa Farm and Land Chapter No. 2 REALTORS Land Institute, says that between September 2015 and March 2016, farmland values across the state have dropped by about five per cent.
According to Ruhl Farm & Land, a 3.5 per cent farmland value decrease was also reported in September 2015; therefore the total drop in farmland value between March 2015 and 2016 is estimated at 8.7 per cent.
Eric Schlutz, ALC, Realtor and Manager of the Ruhl & Ruhl office in Muscatine, Iowa, said the drop in farmland values isn’t as serious as some originally thought it might be and falling commodity prices have contributed to the changes in land value.
All nine of Iowa’s crop reporting districts reported a drop in value between September 2015 and March 2016 with Northwest and South Central Iowa both reporting the highest declines at 6.2 per cent.
Iowa isn’t the only state facing dropping farmland prices as an organization in Illinois reported.
The Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers say farmland prices within the state fell between eight and nine per cent in 2015.
According to its latest report, farmland in the “excellent” range dropped eight per cent but “pockets of strength still exist (because) buyers (are) still willing to pay for high quality soil.”
If dropping land values makes you want to invest in more land, visit the Farms.com Real Estate pages.