The Land Trends and Value Survey, presented by the Iowa Farm and Land Chapter #2 REALTORS Land Institute, reported a 1.0% decrease in cropland values on a statewide average for the September 2024 to March 2025 time period. This is following the March 2024 to September 2024 time period that showed a 5.0% decrease, giving us a year-over-year decrease of 6.0% for the state of Iowa. After a period of rapidly increasing values, the tillable land market has entered into a sideways trend. Pastureland (down 0.3%) and Timberland (up 1.2%) followed the trend of tillable acres and saw minimal changes for the six-month period.
Survey respondents described the market as “stable” and mentioned an increase in buyer interest since the 1st of the year. Low supply of land being offered to the market and a rally in commodity prices from fall lows have helped stabilize the downtrend in land values seen in 2024. A level of uncertainty has entered the market over the last 30 days, as buyers and sellers try to interpret the future effects of tariffs on agricultural products.
“While over the last year we have seen a slight pullback on land prices, the last six months have leveled off. Commodity prices and interest rates will determine where we go from here," said Eric Schlutz, ALC, Realtor, and Manager of the Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors Muscatine Office.
"The results of the Farmland Survey are pretty much what was expected. In our market area, we see pretty stable prices overall with high quality, well located, and mostly tillable land still commanding strong prices. In general, the inventory of land for sale remains tight, thereby supporting prices. Any softness in the market is in the lower quality farmland. The future land value trends will be impacted by commodity prices, this year's yields, and the impact of tariffs on agriculture and our general economy,” said Dennis Stolk, ALC, Farm and Land Specialist with Ruhl Farm & Land.
For the survey, participants are asked to estimate the average value of farmland as of March 1, 2025. These estimates are for bare, unimproved land with a sale price on a cash basis. Pasture and timberland values were also requested as supplemental information.
Ruhl Farm & Land, a division of Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, is focused on the sale, purchase, and marketing of land, farms, and acreages.
About Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors
A family-owned company since 1862, Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors has grown to 286 sales associates, 59 employees, and 10 offices, selling nearly 4,200 homes in eastern Iowa, northwest Illinois, and southwest Wisconsin. The company has residential sales offices in Bettendorf, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Davenport, DeWitt, Dubuque, Iowa City, and Muscatine, Iowa; and in Moline, Illinois. For more information on Ruhl&Ruhl Realtors, visit their website at www.RuhlHomes.com.
