Revisiting Iowa’s Year Of Huge Farmland Sales And Records
It has been quite the year to sell land here in Iowa.
A recent survey from Iowa State University showed that the average acre of farmland in Iowa jumped 17 percent. And we definitely saw this with land sales throughout the state.
As we head towards the end of 2022, let’s look back at some of the biggest farmland sales this year.
The first big sale we saw last year didn’t quite break the state record at the time, but was still significant. Back in May, a land sale in Plymouth County more than doubled the county average.
This almost 100-acre property sold for $25,000 an acre for a total of around $2.6 million.
Then in June, there was a record land auction in northeast Iowa, well kind of.
High Point Land Company held an auction on June 1st that auctioned off 60 acres of farmland in Dubuque for $30,000. Unfortunately, this land was sold with future intentions to be used for development, and not kept in agriculture, so it was not the official farmland record holder.
This and was sold in two tracts. The first tract of land, over 60 acres, sold for $30,000 an acre and the second, 48-acre tract, was sold for $21,000. Both of these properties sold for over $1 million.
But In October, Iowa saw a new state record farmland price.
At the record-breaking auction, 55 acres were auctioned off for a total of $26,250 per acre in Plymouth County. The total bill for the buyers ended up at $1.44 million. The bidding started at $17,000 an acre. The bidding rose to $25,000 per acre as three bidders battled it out, eventually selling for $26,250.
This sale topped a sale in August in Sioux County record set in August, where land sold for $26,000 per acre.
And finally, about a month later, that record was shattered.
The Zomer Company held a live public auction of a 73.19-acre plot in Sioux County on November 11th. The land sold for $30,000 per acre and which equals a total sale cost of $2.195 million.
The new owner of this land is a local farmer. The runner-up was also a local farmer.
These are just a few of the major sales we have seen across Iowa. Lets take a look back at another farm that was recently sold in Buchanan County.