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Analysts say land prices have stabilized

Farmland values in Iowa have dropped 15 to 20 percent from their highs in 2013. But Kyle Hansen, land broker with Hertz Real Estate Services, says prices have stabilized since the completion of the 2014 harvest.

“We’ve actually seen a fairly steady market over the last 60 days,” Hansen says. “We hope that continues, and we’ll get into spring planting and see what happens to the commodity prices.”

Hansen says while farmers continue to be the main buyers of farmland, he is seeing more investor interest. Eric Peterson, president of Summit Group, an Iowa-based investment firm, tells Brownfield they are looking to buy farmland.

“We still think it’s a very good long-term investment,” Peterson says, “and so we’re viewing this decline as an opportunity to pick up more acres.”

Peterson and Hansen were participants in last week’s Land Investment Expo in Des Moines.

AUDIO: Kyle Hansen

AUDIO: Eric Peterson