DUBUQUE, Iowa – On June 1, High Point Land Company auctioned off nearly 60 acres of land for $30,000 an acre in Dubuque County, Iowa.
“I am super excited for the sellers. The farm has been in their family for generations and it was a difficult decision to sell the land. It is very rewarding to have a sale that exceeded expectations,” said Matt Tobin, listing agent and Iowa land specialist.
The land is located on the western edge of the city limits of Dubuque and borders Asbury city limits. The area is growing rapidly with recent developments including single family home subdivisions, multi-family housing and a long term care facility. Two tracts of land were auctioned off totaling more than 107 acres.
“We had a full room of bidders as well as many online bidders and 1 phone bidder. We had folks from New York to Denver interested in the property and registered to bid. Some were investors who wanted to buy and hold the land and other bidders planned to move forward with phases of development,” said Tobin.
The first tract included nearly 60 acres and sold for $30,000 while the second tract of 48 acres brought in $21,000. The farmland is currently zoned as agricultural and operated by a local farmer, however it was recently annexed into the City of Dubuque as their plans for development draw closer.
As for whether the $30,000 price tag broke an Iowa farmland record -Tanner Knowlton, High Point land appraiser, believes so.
“The property was certainly ‘land in transition’ meaning it is agricultural property which lies in the path of development. To my knowledge, comparable highs brought to auction prior to this one sold for $26,000 per acre and $26,200 per acre in Johnson and Linn counties, with those properties also being ‘land in transition,’” said Knowlton.
Despite the probable development of this land in the future, Iowa farmland values are on the rise. “We have seen unprecedented growth in the land market in the past year with many properties throughout the state bringing $20,000–$25,000 per acre. I recently spoke with clients who remember when Iowa farmland commonly sold at $500 an acre and never in their wildest dreams did they think they would see $30,000,” said Knowlton.
“Land in Iowa is special for many reasons but low property taxes, favorable agricultural laws and regulations, consistent absentee investment, and scarcity of some of the highest quality soil in the world to grow crops are a few of the most important,” said Jacob Hart, founder and broker of High Point Land Company.
Hart and his team are experts in land sales. They take pride in selling land and developing strong relationships with clients because they know that more often than not, land carries meaning and memories. The team has land real estate and auction experts on everything from farm and development land to recreational hunting land.
“Everyone at High Point is willing to take extra steps to make sure land sales are a success even if it is not the easy road. We care greatly about the client and their land experience from start to finish. It’s important to us to make sure the buyers, sellers and everyone involved has a great experience with the process,” said Hart.
