Week 20 Iowa Farmland Auction Results

Iowa Farmland Sales Summary

Our trendlines have turned down in 2018 as we continue to track farmland price from the auction of 80% tillable farms.  Lower volume and a fair number of lower quality farms recently have affected the averages statewide.  A recent report on Iowa Farmland Rental Rates was recently released showing a gain in farmland rental rates over the past year.  This was the first gain in farmland leases in the past 5 years and it was small but it progressed forward which is good news for everybody and shows the agricultural industry has a little strength.  Combined with very few distressed farms hitting the market on the market despite expectations of them says that many have misjudged the strength in the countryside or some factor is at play that nobody understands yet.

This week we are reporting on just 4 auctions in all 99 Iowa Counties.  Those farms averaged $8270 per tillable acre while the average of the farms (not acres) was 77.05 CSR2.  This put the week at $103.81 average per CSR2 point which was down for our 2018 trend.

Farmland Sales Volume In Iowa

The volume of farmland sales is just about non-existent yet buying power is as strong as it has been in a long time.  The lack of supply is building and 1031 money is very plentiful right now.  With development strong across the state of Iowa and especially in metro areas, there is a lot of money waiting to be parked in farmland.  The value that 1031 flow adds to farms can be significant but is always temporary.  There are at times plentiful investment money from 1031 and at times its very short.  We happen to be in a period where its plentiful but farms available for sale are short.  This supply of money is probably most aimed at the Central to Eastern Iowa areas with a few opportunities west and more so in the Council Bluffs and Sioux City areas.  Because 1031 exchanges are time definite with an expiration date on them it pays to get yourself in the early part of that run up to those dollars versus the tail end.

The following are the farms sold in Iowa this week including farms in Clarke County, Lyon County, Franklin County and Mitchell County.      Prices ranged from $65.59 per CSR2 point to $153.40 and we see the state average right around $107 a point today for 2018.

Iowa Farmland Auctions Report For May 13-18, 2018