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Land Prices

bjkpharmd

bjkpharmd

New Member
New link to IFT paper. IFT land link
I follow this pretty close but haven't seen then local prices (at least that I know of) being pushed on the marginal ground.
So I have a question about buying and selling.
If you are looking or have looked for hunting ground- when are you the most serious about buying?
 
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So I have a question about buying and selling.
If you are looking or have looked for hunting ground- when are you the most serious about buying?

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When my banker said "Well.... I guess I'll give you the money."
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Really though. I bought my 70 acre slice of heaven at auction so I was forced to move quickly. This land had been a family farm for decades until a death in the family caused them to want to sell. To tell you the truth, I never thought I could afford land. After checking on the C.R.P.contract and low interest loan options I learned otherwise. Now I'm locked in for another 10 years and happy as a pig in a poop pile!
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I'd like to find a smaller tract of timber for under $2,000/acre. Timber values look a little low.
 
I thought those timber figures were a little low too, not sure how they record them. Even some untilled pasture allowed to grow up can be a great place to hunt. I don't think we will see a BIG move down in prices even if interest rates move higher- there is too much money around. Looking at the last 5 years and a 60% increase you wonder how much higher it will go in the near future. Still better than money in the bank.
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Those timber averages are way low IMO but either way I think prices/demand will level off for awhile.
 
I think tillable prices will start to level off a little, but I think hunting ground will continue to rise, just at a slower rate. I would also say the "timbered" prices seem low.....in most places by at least 500/acre, and some even more.
 
the ground in my corner of the state sells way higher than what they have down. Im talking 2500 more at least for tillable right now. If any of the timbers for sale in my area were priced as listed here, I would own at least one of em. Nobody is under 3000 an acre for timber in my area right now.
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Here in Steamboat,CO houses start at $1,000,000 for the average home with many at $2-8,000,000 and raw hunting land is as reasonable as $1000 an acre as long as it is 500 acres or more and that land price is off of the grid(no electricity) Most hunting ground in smaller batches goes for $30,000 an acre. There is currently a 20 acre parcel for sale for $280,000 in the paper and this price seems to be the norm for small pieces on the grid. There is a .021 acre lot in town here for sale right now that is listed for $589,000!!!!!!!!!! It is expensive out here compared to IA or the midwest. One of the locals' favorite sayings out here,if you complain about the price of land or homes is, "If you are going to live in paradise, you have to pay the price."
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My family owns a lumber/logging business and does some work in buying/selling properties so I guess i know a bit about this. The reason timbered land values are down is probably due to the poor housing market. Because of the huge mess people got into with subprime lending and the housing market going to hell, the timber industry, especially for local species like walnut and red oak is down. Red oak is our number one wood and we're having a helluva time moving it. i'd expect this is why values are down slightly.

Honestly, if you're thinking about buying land, especially in iowa, do it. The taxes are so low its disgusting and you can probably knock them down to nothing if you put the place in the right programs.

Around here, $2000 is the bare minimum for any land. I've heard of farm land fetching over $3k/acre. When we sold our 750 acre farm (roughly 625 woods, rest was pasture/farm land), we asked for $2600 and got like $22 or $24/acre. pretty much anywhere around here is $2k bare minimum
 
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If you are looking or have looked for hunting ground- when are you the most serious about buying?

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My next land acquisition will most likely be when I receive an inheritance (or win the lotto). Short of that, I might try to work a contract with an owner I have been talking with. I've flirted around with doing some sort of exchange/trade, but doubt I will do that.

The East Central Iowa ground I'm looking at is a 50/50 mixture of timbered ravines (mature hardwoods) and alfalfa ridges. The owner thinks it was worth more than $2,900.00/acre. I think he has been looking at the county average for productive tillable land. He is not real motivated to sell, either. There have been sales in the area (within a mile or two) that sold for roughly $2,900/acre and I heard they appraised around $2,200/acre. The location of the property makes it attractive to me (and I feel others) for a variety of reasons. It will sell for asking price, so I hope to cut a private deal before it hits the market.
 
I just heard last night that Jeff Foxworthy bought 1900 acres in south central Iowa and most of it was timber the price tag was $3200 an acre.
 
I am very serious right now about buying, but, what I would like to have is to start of with an 80 acre tract of mix timber and pasture. Well in Union, Adair, Adams counties (thats where I've been looking) most land tracs that have timber and pasture on them, also have some tillable, which drives the price up. Or its a good track of timber with tillable acres all around it, which really drives the price up.
 
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I just heard last night that Jeff Foxworthy bought 1900 acres in south central Iowa and most of it was timber the price tag was $3200 an acre.

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Soon to be featured on "The Bucks of Tecomate"?
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one thing timber prices have going for them is lack of interest from the menonite community. one could attempt to buy timber and farm ground and rent the farm ground, 1-300 bucks depending on the quality of the ground. with a rating in the high 80's one can rent ground for a pretty penny. there are lots of options out there, maybe you could go in partners with a friend that farms, buy it together and then devide it up if the seller doesn't want anything to do with that.

as far as the timber value on account of the logging situation i have no idea, i do know that there is good money in getting something logged out, a neighbor of ours had a 15 acre tree farm logged and got (not sure on this) 32,000 maybe (really not sure) but i know i thought it was a pretty good chunk of money...just gotta keep your eyes peeled for auctions and stuff and maybe you can come across something for a price that is actually fair.
 
Best way to take the "rumor" out of land prices is to stop by the courthouse.

There you can soon find out exactly what land is going for and if it is actually selling.

Our local paper lists land transfers which also gives one an idea if ground is selling...or if you just lost one of your hunting spots...
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KNelson, what outfit are you guys?

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Nelson Harwoods Lumber Inc..main office in Prairie du Chien. Actually one of our top competitors just closed its doors for good (i dunno exactly why, but they've been downsizing for years), hopefully this crunch will knock out a few more mills. The way my old man talks we have enough in the bank we should be able to weather the storm.

Oh yeah, for sure, any large chunk of cash sounds great for a wood lot to the average person. i guess i see it differently being thats the family business and i see the business aspect of it.

Foxworthy paid that much? Yeah, it must be nice to have that kind of change laying around. $3200 seems a little steep for me, even if it does have good timber and lots of tillable land. most times with a chunk of ground like that it'll be a little cheaper because its a big farm.

we'd like to add on to our biggest farm in Iowa, we'll probably have the opportunity to expand by a couple hundred acres in the next 10 years or so, but we border Effigy Mounds National Monument on two sides so they really drive the cost of land up. Long story, when they bought the 1000 acre piece next to us for something like 1000 bucks an acre(which at the time was unheard of), they in turn brought the going rate of land up by a lot in NE Iowa/SW Wisconsin.
 
I'd love to have Foxworthy for a neighbor at my main farm. I have a couple who are top notch people and becoming good friends but some leased ground on the other two sides of me is giving me fits- the leasee group doesn't respect property lines and can't possibly be shooting enough does by themselves for the size of the tract the have leased.
 
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