Farmers National Company reports that a trifecta of sales metrics show double-digit jumps in farmland sales.
The landowner services firm reports that sales volume, acres sold and transaction volume have seen increases since the first half of its fiscal year, which runs October through September.
Real estate volume jumped 21 percent during the period compared to a year ago and 38 percent from two years ago, according to AgWeb.
“For this six-month period, we’ve had good volume and activity considering the slow market,” Farmers National Company Senior Vice President Randy Dickhut said.
Farmers National Company logged 470 farmland transactions involving 63,925 acres for the first half of its 2017 fiscal year. AgWeb reports non-operator landowners are driving those land sales.
Sales Volume:
Up 21 percent from 2016
Up 38 percent from 2015
Acres Sold:
Up 10 percent from 2016
Up 27 percent from 2015
Transaction Volume:
Up 47 percent
Auction Sales:
Up 12 percent
He noted farmland sales and transactions peaked in 2013 for the company, but this latest data marks the third year of improving activity since the steady fall that occurred after 2013.
Demand is still strong for land in most of the company’s 28-state service area, which includes Texas.
Dickhut said that today’s prices offer an opportunity for non-operating landowners to sell and capture some of the land appreciation of the past few years.
“So far, few farm operators are selling land, and investors continue to be in the market looking for opportunities to add acres to their holdings,” Dickhut said. “The slow decline in the land market is part of the reason some are selling.”
He said the current land market conditions also offer good buying opportunities.
“As land prices have softened over the last three to four years, it’s a better buying point than it was,” Dickhut says. “The question is, will it decline more? Probably. How much? I don’t know. It will be something to see how this plays out through the end of the year into next year.”
He said the number of buyers and sellers for good land in most markets is in “equilibrium,” causing the boost in land sales.
“As long as the seller is realistic about today’s market price for land in their area, there are buyers looking to buy,” Dickhut said.
My question is how much of that farmland that is being sold is staying farmland. I live in central Texas and it is all getting bought up and getting subdivided or turned into developments. Needless to say land prices have doubled in five years and the prices of the subdivided land have gone up ten to 20 fold. I just hope I can hold out till I can retire and move out the the country again.
I live in the south/east side of Midland County and we are in the oil boom and I am seeing more and more of the old farm lands sold and turned into commercial use for businesses which will never go back to being farm land again. I a very aware that if you are not farming the land it is a perfect time to sell out and many younger members of the old farm families are choosing to sell and not to new farmers coming on board. I had some farm land that laid out so long that I can hardly met my taxes on it now. So trying to figure out to go back to a farm type use or sell out would be better for me. I can not blame country families for selling and moving to other places either. I have lived in Midland a long time and these past 7 years have changed it so much that I do not want to live here any longer myself before a big truck and rude drivers runs over me.