Yeah, I think the prices are nuts and driven by the grain markets that are showing some corrections as of late.
Right now though, interests rates are VERY low and some farmers have a fair amount of cash on hand to pay down the mortgage. IF they plan to continue farming for ten or twenty years, who knows when ground in their area will come up for sale? So sometimes "location, location, location" that the city realtors always talk about applies for farm ground as well (close to the farmers existing properties).
Today's Corridor Business Journal article:
Iowa farmland value increased 32.6 percent in past year[FONT="][/FONT]
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The Land Trends and Value Survey, presented by the Iowa Farm and Land Chapter No. 2 Realtors Land Institute, reported a statewide average increase of cropland values of 32.6 percent for the year from Sept. 1, 2010, to Sept. 1 of this year. This follows an average increase of 8.5 percent for the previous year.[FONT="][/FONT]
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Farmland, timber and pasture land in our markets continue to be in great demand, according to Tom Marcus, a real estate agent with Ruhl Farm&Land, a division of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors.[FONT="][/FONT]
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"High quality cropland is in the most demand; but there is very little for sale," he said in a press release. "The demand for this type of land has caused the sale prices and land rent to skyrocket. If a farmer wants to continue to farm he or she has to have land to plant crops on or they are forced out of business. Prices for corn and soybeans have increased this year to where farmers can afford to pay more for rent and the purchase of land."[FONT="][/FONT]
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The survey attributed the increase to several factors, including strong commodity prices, favorable long-term interest rates, limited amount of land offered for sale, lack of alternative investments, higher livestock prices and fear of inflation. [FONT="][/FONT]
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For the survey, participants are asked to estimate the average value of farmland as of Sept. 1. These estimates are for bare, unimproved land with a sale price on a cash basis. Pasture and timberland values were also requested as supplemental information. All nine Iowa crop reporting districts showed an increase. [FONT="][/FONT]