Farmers National Company Reports Surprising Jump In Farmland Sales

Farmers National Company reports that real estate sales volume is up 21 percent during the first half of its fiscal year compared to last year and up 38 percent from a year earlier with an increase in both individual sales transactions and acres sold.

Acres sold by the company increased 10 percent from last year and 27 percent compared to two years ago. Transaction volume has also been on the increase, up 47 percent in the past two years. For the first half of its fiscal year, which runs from October through March, there were 470 transactions involving 63,925 acres.

Randy Dickhut, senior vice president, noted that the sales activity is being driven primarily by non-operating landowners.

"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. The slow decline in the land market is part of the reason some are selling," he said.

Some landowners have decided that now is the time to sell and capture some of the land appreciation seen in the last few years. Dickhut said that there is still good demand for land in most of the company's 28-state service area.

"The number of buyers and sellers for good land in most markets is in equilibrium and that seems to be helping our 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. I credit our increases in the face of a slowing land market to our large network of agents educating their clients on the current market prospects," Dickhut said.