Market stoked: Rural property values keep tracking upward

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Don Hazlett, longtime real estate broker with Farm and Ranch Realty, Colby, Kansas, said the market for rural land is simple—it is hot.

Historically low mortgage rates and producers having more income have added fuel, he said.

Paul Schadegg, an area sales manager with Omaha, Nebraska-based Farmers National Company, whose territory includes multiple states in the High Plains, is seeing land reach the record heights of 2012 to 2014, which followed a peak of record commodity prices.

In some cases there has been a double-digit increase in values compared to a year ago when the market was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Another driver has been that grain prices have continued to go up as the market digests news of tight world supplies.

The market for traditional farm and ranch real estate still had not taken off yet because of low commodity prices but by summer heading into fall it started to change, Dickhut said.

As in all cases, there are caveats, based on market prices, drought and other factors that influence regional markets.

Another trend is that people want to get away from the city life as a result of the pandemic and technology allows them to remotely work.

David Krien, a real estate associate with Re/Max Pro of Hays, Kansas, said he works with a group of investors that is taking an active interest in the market.

The outside investment, Krien said, can help producers who might be leveraged and relieves their debt pressure.

Sellers need to promote their acreage in advance so there is plenty of exposure in the marketplace.

They also should be aggressive if the opportunity meets their needs but also to understand how it can fit into their operation and finances.

He also believes in advertising, both in traditional ways and through social channels, to get the word out.

“The successful investor looks at it without any emotion and he has a target for his return on his investment,” Schadegg said.

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