Staying up-to-date with land value trends and total transactions is imperative for appraisers, farm managers, and other land professionals. Here are findings for land value and transaction history trends within the past 2 years for prime farmland (Illinois and Iowa) and timberland (Georgia) markets in the US.
Results were gathered from AcreValue’s online sales records database using the Market Dashboard and property mapping services.
Prime Farmland, Examples from Illinois
The average sale price per acre of prime farmland* across Illinois has been steadily increasing over the past 2 years (Q4 2021 – present). When data for the prior 2 years is included (Q4 2019 – present), the trend becomes even more visible.
While the average sale price of prime farmland pre acre across Illinois has been steadily increasing over the past 2 years, the number of transactions of prime farmland across Illinois has been decreasing quarter by quarter over the past 2 years. In Q4 2021, 631 transactions of prime farmland were recorded - since then, the number of transactions has steadily decreased at a highly linear trend to today’s lows.
We can see a similar dynamic in Iowa, where the average sale price per acre of prime farmland during the same timeframe has generally increased with strong linear trends. Looking back 4 years to late 2019, the increase in land prices holds (with dips in mid-to-late 2020 and early 2021, potentially due to the effects and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic).
While prices have increased, the total number of prime farmland transactions in IA have generally shown decreasing trends quarter by quarter over the past 2 years.
* Transactions of prime farmland are defined in this example as:
- Transactions from all counties in the state
- Q4 2021 - Present (with some graphs referencing transactions from Q4 2019 - Present)
- Sale price per acre between $5,000/acre and $25,000/acre
- Land use of at least 50% row crop in any of the past 5 years
- Tillable % between 75% and 100%
- Transactions between 20 – 2,000 acres
- Soil quality:
- Illinois: PI between 100 and 147
- Iowa: CSR2 between 65 and 100
Timberland, Examples from Georgia
The average sale price per acre of prime timberland properties in GA has steadily increased over the past 2 years (Q4 2021 – present). When including the prior 2 years (looking back to Q4 2019), the trend becomes even more visible, with occasional dips in sale price in mid-2020 and early 2021.
Transactions of timberland in the main timber regions of GA generally increased quarter-by-quarter through mid-2021, then steadied before decreasing sharply in late 2022 and early 2023. This dip in transactions could potentially be due to a culmination of many issues, such as supply chain disruption issues, the impact of successive interest rate hikes starting in mid-2022, or more timberland owners willing to sell their land due to high timber prices.
* Transactions of prime timberland are defined in this example as:
- Q3 2021 - Present
- Sale price per acre between $0/acre and $15,000/acre
- Land use of at least 50% forestry in any of the past 5 years
- Tillable % between 0% and 100%
- Transactions between 20 – 2,000 acres
- Soil quality: NCCPI between 0 and 50
To analyze land value trends for your own state or region, start a conversation with AcreValue’s Account Executive Team about an Enterprise subscription for your business – get in touch today!