by Ben Nuelle
Iowa Land values continue on a downward trend. The Iowa Chapter of REALTORS Land Institute released results from their March 2016 Land Trends and Values Survey Wednesday. Results show a statewide decrease of 5 percent for tillable cropland values from September 2015 to March 2016.
This March, Tillable cropland is $6,732 an acre. Last March, tillable cropland in Iowa was valued at $7,372 an acre.
Kyle Hansen works for Hertz Real Estate Services. He says location is critical depending on how many buyers are in a specific area.
?You see a lot of dramatic differences within counties. You see farmers that are more conservative in counties as well. If you find someone in a conservative county that is more willing to compete and is a very strong buyer just one more of them, you could see something really generate if it?s in their area of influence. If you get outside of that strong buyer?s influence and it?s in a conservative area, then you see a dramatic price difference.?
He says if grain prices stay flat, land values could stay where they are or slightly decline.
?I would see a continuation of our current trend down anywhere from five to seven percent every six months. We could definitely see some more dramatic decreases if we have a large crop in 2016 but something could change tomorrow that could also put some stability to the market and keep land prices more steady. It is a steady to down market right now with changes in future events unknown of what is going to affect it.?
From March 2015 to March 2016, the statewide average for tillable cropland in Iowa decreased 8.7 percent, according to the Iowa chapter of REALTORS Land Survey Institute.
