How the Iowa Farmland Auction Process Works – Best Way to Sell Iowa Farmland 

Over the past half decade, the Iowa farmland auction process has been the major option with how farmland trades in Iowa. Information has shown around 79% of Iowa farmland trades using the auction method of sale on the open market. 21% of the farmland trades on the traditional listing process. Both methods are effective, but there are advantages of bringing farms to the market using the public auction method. In today’s farm economy, things have adjusted since the commodity boom era of 2011-2013 where we saw a 72% plus increase in Iowa farmland values. An increase of this magnitude is something Iowa landowners have never seen before. This large increase in values have changed the way investors, land buyers, and sellers look at buying and selling farmland.

Iowa Farms That Sell Best on Auction

The farms that sell best on auction are farms that are square, strong in soil, and well drained. In today’s era, efficiency in the farm fields is key to a good operation. Efficiency is considered to be farmability, income potential, and efficient in the drainage department. Understanding and finding the right fit for your farm can take local knowledge and expertise. In today’s market, with land values on a slight decrease, it is very challenging to put a “List Price” on a farm. We value 5 key components in determining Iowa farmland values. These consist of the following, farm location, what’s currently on the market, improvements, recent sales, and CSR2 (Corn Suitable Rating).

How the Auction Process Works

After talking with a certified Iowa Land Company Broker, we can help you explain the auction process and how we can specialize the marketing process used for your farmland. We then go into detail how the process unfolds to help you sell your farmland at a strong price. We typically use a 5-8 week marketing process for each sale. Other outfits might use just 4 weeks, and we feel like the 5-8 week process to a better fit to find more potential bidders for your farmland. This process consists of building a dispersing grass root marketing to local papers, land owners, and regional investors along with large investors nationwide. We handle both local marketing and national high tech, innovative marketing strategies in-house. Contact us today to learn more about our auction process and how we can help better assist you on the sale of your farmland. Along with that, you can learn more about our fees and cost to have a live/online auction preformed for you.

Reserve vs. Absolute Land Auction

Each client is different and have different situations; many of our clients inherit farms and don’t have a perfect understanding on how land auctions work. Most clients think if they take the farm to auction that it is too risky and very uncertain leaving them in a “gamble” situation. That is far from the truth. When working with Iowa Land Company, we take precautions to make sure the client is well aware of the benefits of taking the farm to auction. In today’s market, 80% of our auctions brought to market are sold using a “reserve” auction structure. What this means is that there is a set price agreed upon prior to sale day that the seller is willing to take. This is a number provided but CMA’s and market trends. The reserve insures the client that we have their best interest at the forefront of the sale. An absolute auction, on the other hand, is a straight line sale. These sales are typically held when the farm is on a court order / complete estate transaction. To learn more about this process, contact us today and we can walk you through the process.   

Family Owned – Iowa Raised

Our firm prides itself on leading the curve in the marketing of Iowa farmland. We are a family owned Iowa land brokerage that understand the land business, and each one of our representatives are well seasoned and are deeply rooted in there region of the state. Iowa Land Company has a niche for the auction method of marketing. Let us work for you to reach common goals and make your sale process smooth and rewarding. We are currently booking auctions for the fall sale season. We offer a tailored marketing plan for each sale and provide live/online auctions. To view other auctions and sold sales view, https://iowalandcompany.com/auctions/