Land prices steady to higher

Farmland values across Illinois were ‘steady-to-up”  last year while the number of sales throughout the state appear to have been down significantly from  2022, at least according to the 2024 Farmland Values Lease Trends Report released Thursday today by the Illinois Society of Professional Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

The comments came from Luke Worrell, AFM, ALC, chair of the Farmland Values Conference project sponsored by the Society.

Worrell, with Worrell Land Services, Jacksonville IL, says 2023 was a transition year for farmland values across the state.

“For the first time in a long time, we saw quite a bit of variance across the regions,” he states, citing sales of Class A Excellent farmland:  “Regions 3 and 8 experienced continued sharp increases while Regions 1 and 6 decreased, something that hadn’t occurred in a few years. The Land Values Report is based upon sales transaction analyses done by members of the Illinois Society based upon publicly recorded sales activity. The information is based upon 10 geographic regions across the state. The data are compiled through the office of Bruce Sherrick, Ph.D., University of Illinois Department of Ag and Consumer Economics

”The other big change from the last couple of years is the number of transactions,” he continues. “For much of 2021 and 2022, the land industry moved at a breakneck pace in auctions and private transactions. We were spoiled in a sense in that there seemed to be a Class A land auction on a weekly basis. That changed dramatically in 2023. The velocity of closed transactions slowed considerably. Values largely maintained themselves or slightly increased, but the number of sales happening throughout the state appear to have been down considerably from the prior year.”

In a synopsis of sales activity for 2023, Gary Schnitkey, Ph.D,, and Gerald Mashange, Ph.D., both with the University of Illinois Department of Ag and Consumer Economics, noted that estate sales represented the majority of farmland sales, accounting for 59 percent of them . These were followed by farmers making up 19 percent of sellers, of which 13 percent were retired and 6 percent were active. Institutions accounted for 9 percent of the sellers, and individuals represented 12 percent.

Median sales prices for 2023 paid per acre by land class were: Excellent -- $16,779; Good -- $12,911: Average -- $9,198; Fair -- $7,000; Recreational -- $5,250, and; Transitional -- $35,000. Quoting Worrell, “It’s all location, location and location.”

Price change averages (2023 vs 2022) by land class were: Excellent -- + 5.5%; Good -- + 7.0%; Average -- + 13.3% ; Fair -- +14.4%; Recreational -- + 7.1%, and, Transitional --  + 22.0%.