2008 Remarks
What an exciting year for us here at Swain Realty selling over 4000 acres of farmland at an ever increasing record-setting prices per acre. We were fortunate to finish our land auctions in September before the free fall in commodities. I attend land auctions on a weekly basis and it appears to me that the decline in values has been about 10-20% Some examples are a 45 CSR farm bringing $3200/acre after land about 2 miles away brought $3800/acre in September. There also was a comparable tract selling on auction at $3410, but it had an irrigation system. Another comp brought $3000 per acre. The fact is though, land is still selling very high with a lot of 1031 investors and neighbors still in the market after a great year on the farm. Most everyone was surprised about the price drop in corn... It is still near $4 today. Not long ago I thought that was an excellent price. Fertilizer and fuel prices are the next items to free fall or we are going to be in trouble with profits on the land.
2009 Remarks
As I have always said in the past "The time to buy land is when you can handle it." I don't see the price falling very fast when you still have record profits on the land and many investors who do not have faith in the stock market, or the low CD rates.
We are currenlty looking at several parcels of land for auction in the spring. If you have land to sell, give us a call for a no obligation market analysis. Just remember to sell your land by auction to bring the buyers to the table and get a fair market value for your property. You will be happy with our services......
Thank you.
Randy
