Terva Releases Q3 2017 Iowa Farmland Auction Report

In the third quarter of 2017, September saw a spike in land sales across Iowa. That’s according to the Farmland Auction Report released by Terva today. The company tracks active listings, upcoming auctions, and arms-length comparable sales information from all 99 counties in Iowa.

“When we look at year-over-year trends, September having the most public auctions up to this point is fairly typical,” says Steven Brockshus, the founder of Terva. “It would be generally expected that October auction volume will be down, then pick up again in November and December.”

Here are the numbers for Iowa’s public land auctions thus far in 2017:

• January - 28
• February - 43
• March - 39
• April - 41
• May - 11
• June - 47
• July - 22
• August - 40
• September - 58

“The data suggests the market has gotten stronger throughout the year and, even with more land being auctioned, the market appears to be very strong,” says Jim “The Land Talker” Rothermich, who has nearly three decades of experience in the farmland real estate industry.

The southeast corner of the state saw the most land auctions at 21 with 14 of those being 85% tillable. The average selling price was $7,255 for all sales and $8,637 for land that was at least 85% tillable. Northwest Iowa placed second with 19 auctions, 17 of which included land that was 85% tillable. The average selling price was $9,926 (all sales) and $10,337 (85% tillable).

To view the full Q3 report or to learn more about Terva, visit terva.ag.