Old story of you get what you pay for. Anything around here at 5k per acre is steep and good for farming rocks.
Land quest via price per acre
DW and I are searching for our little slice of heaven. In this part of North-Central PA we are seeing land prices around $10,000 per acre. I'd like to buy some land significantly less expensive than that.
So who is seeing lots of 5-25 acres selling for $5000 an acre or less in their neck of the woods. Please bear in mind that I am talking about reasonable farm land, not PA mountain side here.
The less likely it is to suffer encroachment, the better.
So who is seeing lots of 5-25 acres selling for $5000 an acre or less in their neck of the woods. Please bear in mind that I am talking about reasonable farm land, not PA mountain side here.
The less likely it is to suffer encroachment, the better.
1 - 20 of 71 Posts
Not farm land, but grass land. 160 acres bordered on three sides by Forest service land. Probably too arid for "farming" other than a garden, with proper water usage. $60,000
The problem is that often 5-25 acres have to be sub-divided off of 160 acres (quarter section) or 640 acres (section) and there are surveying and legal fees incurred to do such.
Sometimes it is simply better to buy a larger piece of property as it is nearly always cheaper per acre.
Before the price of wheat went up last year you could buy some excellent land in my area for $1,000 per acre when purchased in quarter section size. In western Kansas 160 acres was going for around $90,000, but there isn't the rainfall there compared to where I currently live.
Perhaps the higher price per acre weeds out the farmers from the other folk as the farmers want more land and are willing to pay a larger initial investment and will get their investment back over time.
Sometimes it is simply better to buy a larger piece of property as it is nearly always cheaper per acre.
Before the price of wheat went up last year you could buy some excellent land in my area for $1,000 per acre when purchased in quarter section size. In western Kansas 160 acres was going for around $90,000, but there isn't the rainfall there compared to where I currently live.
Perhaps the higher price per acre weeds out the farmers from the other folk as the farmers want more land and are willing to pay a larger initial investment and will get their investment back over time.
If you mean real, actual farm land that grows corn, soybeans, wheat, etc - up here in MN it is now selling for $4000 - 5000. Just a few years ago it was $2000 or less. I think with the bubble in the ecconomy, it may again sell for $2000.
Right _now_ is the worst time to buy farm land. It is at a historical high point. On the other hand, it is actually avbailable right now - lots of sellers, hoping to cash in on the high prices. When land values fall again, you likely will see very little for sale, as has been in the past.
If you mean a homesteaders type place, with maybe some woods or wet stuff & a couple acres you can put a big garden on, that really doesn't have a per acre price. It is sold as to how close it is to a town, how good the road is going past, what useful buildings are on it - typically for a person with 2-5 horses as that is what is popular 'here', & so forth. Those run $100,000 to 350,000 'here', if the acres are between 7-15. Acres doesn't matter so much as the rest of the list!
Large plots of land can be cheaper if they combine non-farm and farmed acres, as they are too big for a person with a couple horses; and they have too much waste for a person who only wants farmland. I bought 40 acres a couple years ago that was 5-10 acres of wetland - but I am allowed to 'farm' it so long as I don't drain it and it produces very good hay for my cattle, the rest is good farmland. Since I could plow up my own 10 acres of alfalfa for crops and use that wet area to raise hay, I gained a full 40 acres for me, and got a good deal on the land as it was too big for a homesteader/ horse person, and too much trouble for a straight grain farmer.
I think you will need to look for a special deal like that to fit your needs, rather than looking for an average type of situation. In farming states, this is a rough time to be buying farm land - it is very spendy yet. You need to figure out what you can live with - good or bad access road, woods, wet, or etc on part of it, and see how many 'flaws' you can accept if you need to make it cheaper than average.
--->Paul
Right _now_ is the worst time to buy farm land. It is at a historical high point. On the other hand, it is actually avbailable right now - lots of sellers, hoping to cash in on the high prices. When land values fall again, you likely will see very little for sale, as has been in the past.
If you mean a homesteaders type place, with maybe some woods or wet stuff & a couple acres you can put a big garden on, that really doesn't have a per acre price. It is sold as to how close it is to a town, how good the road is going past, what useful buildings are on it - typically for a person with 2-5 horses as that is what is popular 'here', & so forth. Those run $100,000 to 350,000 'here', if the acres are between 7-15. Acres doesn't matter so much as the rest of the list!
Large plots of land can be cheaper if they combine non-farm and farmed acres, as they are too big for a person with a couple horses; and they have too much waste for a person who only wants farmland. I bought 40 acres a couple years ago that was 5-10 acres of wetland - but I am allowed to 'farm' it so long as I don't drain it and it produces very good hay for my cattle, the rest is good farmland. Since I could plow up my own 10 acres of alfalfa for crops and use that wet area to raise hay, I gained a full 40 acres for me, and got a good deal on the land as it was too big for a homesteader/ horse person, and too much trouble for a straight grain farmer.
I think you will need to look for a special deal like that to fit your needs, rather than looking for an average type of situation. In farming states, this is a rough time to be buying farm land - it is very spendy yet. You need to figure out what you can live with - good or bad access road, woods, wet, or etc on part of it, and see how many 'flaws' you can accept if you need to make it cheaper than average.
--->Paul
I used www.unitedcountry.com . They charge what the land is worth, so, if they have something affordable then the realtors in that area will have OTHER places just as affordable!
Edited to add: I see that land in your state really *IS* expensive! Though, you might want to at least look at these: they are in PA but I am not sure where! http://www.unitedcountry.com/search06/SearchResults.Asp?SID=65276327&Lcnt=&AU=N
Edited to add: I see that land in your state really *IS* expensive! Though, you might want to at least look at these: they are in PA but I am not sure where! http://www.unitedcountry.com/search06/SearchResults.Asp?SID=65276327&Lcnt=&AU=N
Your 5 to 25 acres leaves a lot of room for interpretation as to what you want. I'm in NE Nevada, and we don't see property prices like you describe.
You can get 5 acres within about 10 miles of Elko, NV for around $500 to $600 per acre, and perhaps two to three times that much if it's close to power. Those are eBay prices, but if you make land offers yourself you can cut those prices in half. Those lots will be in subdivisions with dedicated road & utility rights-of way.
For longer acreage I would be looking near Montello, NV. You can still find 40 acre parcels in that area for around $100/acre.
This is traditional cowboy country, not heavily wooded forest country. However, the water is very good, normally found at 100-150 feet and typically producing 30 to 40 gallons/minute.
You can get 5 acres within about 10 miles of Elko, NV for around $500 to $600 per acre, and perhaps two to three times that much if it's close to power. Those are eBay prices, but if you make land offers yourself you can cut those prices in half. Those lots will be in subdivisions with dedicated road & utility rights-of way.
For longer acreage I would be looking near Montello, NV. You can still find 40 acre parcels in that area for around $100/acre.
This is traditional cowboy country, not heavily wooded forest country. However, the water is very good, normally found at 100-150 feet and typically producing 30 to 40 gallons/minute.
BRRRR-RRRRR No thanks. PA is about as far north as I plan to go.If you are retired and don't need a job look at Northern Maine
A bigger chunk would not be out of the question, if it were under $125k.
Our goal is to raise our own chickens, eggs, beef, pork, and goats on pasture and then sell natural wholesome food to people who are scared of where our food industry is headed.
I'm within an hour of you, and I'm seeing very high prices here despite the recession, and the loss in value of homes elsewhere. Of course, we are surrounded by 70,000 acres of State Forest, and have gamelands nearby as well. Also, the Amish in this area have driven any open land up to rather unreasonable (IMO) prices. They don't have a choice, they have to pay top dollar, they have a lot of kids to provide for. Add to that the possibility of selling off mineral rights for $1500 an acre, plus possibly earning up to 17% on gas dividends if they place a well on your property. Makes it darned hard to find any land in PA right now.
We just purchased an adjoining ten acres that was originally part of this farm. We paid $3000 more per acre then we wanted to pay, but the truth of it is A. We need it to expand our beef & horse business, mainly to make quality hay. B. It is within our sight distance. That made it very valuable to us (and the seller knew it) since one of the reasons we moved here from the Poconos was to get away from looking at other peoples 'stuff'. We knew if we didn't buy it, and someone else did, we would be kicking ourselves for a long, long time.
It made me sick to lay out that much money, especially now, but I now have a 360 degree view of nothing but State Forest, or land that we own. :banana02: Priceless!
So, what is the price for living where you feel safe, have good enough ground to do what you want with it, and are content for the rest of your days?
BTW, since we bought it and the neighbors found out, the sellers have been besieged with offers, higher than ours for the remaining farmland.
We just purchased an adjoining ten acres that was originally part of this farm. We paid $3000 more per acre then we wanted to pay, but the truth of it is A. We need it to expand our beef & horse business, mainly to make quality hay. B. It is within our sight distance. That made it very valuable to us (and the seller knew it) since one of the reasons we moved here from the Poconos was to get away from looking at other peoples 'stuff'. We knew if we didn't buy it, and someone else did, we would be kicking ourselves for a long, long time.
It made me sick to lay out that much money, especially now, but I now have a 360 degree view of nothing but State Forest, or land that we own. :banana02: Priceless!
So, what is the price for living where you feel safe, have good enough ground to do what you want with it, and are content for the rest of your days?
BTW, since we bought it and the neighbors found out, the sellers have been besieged with offers, higher than ours for the remaining farmland.
I thought I posted this earlier. My mom hs 360+ acres for sale in Douglas Co. Mo. She is willing to divide it - but would rather do 40 acre sections. It averages $1600 per acre. Part is trees, part hayfields. My parents ran a dairy farm there until my dad got too ill to dairy. He ran beef cattle for a few years. What my mom won't do is cut a piece out of the middle at this point. It is about 16 miles from Ava and 10 miles from Norwood - 65 miles from Springfield. Hardly have suburbia encroaching.....It is listed with United Country's Ava office.
We just bought 40 acres of bare ground in NW Kansas for $400 an acre.
We paid too much (it only appraised at $250) but we thought it was still worth $400.
We paid too much (it only appraised at $250) but we thought it was still worth $400.
You can buy land for that price in Kentucky. Not flat, well maintained farmland, but fields with some woods. Must be fairly reasonable because we have several Amish neighbors that sold farms in PA and moved down here.
Marlboro county SC has plenty of decent farm land for less than $2000 per acre.
That adds a whole new dimension. To be near a market for what you plan on raising will probably add to the per acre price. You can raise anything you want around here, just not much of a market or at least a profitable market.BRRRR-RRRRR No thanks. PA is about as far north as I plan to go.
A bigger chunk would not be out of the question, if it were under $125k.
Our goal is to raise our own chickens, eggs, beef, pork, and goats on pasture and then sell natural wholesome food to people who are scared of where our food industry is headed.
I think there is still some reasonable priced land in NW PA. Erie county its getting hard to find but Crawford County I would think you could find something. I've not been keeping a close eye on real estate since we bought our place but I'm pretty sure some goes for around 3K an acre here. When we bought our farm we bought the 5 acres next to it for 3K an acre and thought it was alittle high priced! The main part was 57 acres with a big old farmhouse in liveable condition for 140K. Might be worth looking into this area if you haven't but remember we do get lake affect snow! 
How about 50 ACRES in the middle of IL 96 miles from the farmers market in Saint Louis ?
10 of it on a well timbered ridge with a nice view of the rest . The other 40 would be in a well watered black dirt creek bottom with two sides of frontage on a small creek and about 10 acres of grass and trees along them surrounded on 3 sides with timber.
Its a area of low taxes and few regulations with city water coming but not mandatory.
Power is close, as is a township maintained road and its in a rural area that caters to farming.
All that for $5000 an acre and hey if ya want more there is another 50 adjacent.
And most importantly ..................................GREAT NEIGHBORS!:banana02:
10 of it on a well timbered ridge with a nice view of the rest . The other 40 would be in a well watered black dirt creek bottom with two sides of frontage on a small creek and about 10 acres of grass and trees along them surrounded on 3 sides with timber.
Its a area of low taxes and few regulations with city water coming but not mandatory.
Power is close, as is a township maintained road and its in a rural area that caters to farming.
All that for $5000 an acre and hey if ya want more there is another 50 adjacent.
And most importantly ..................................GREAT NEIGHBORS!:banana02:
We have about 50 acres for sale here in TN for $3000 per acre. Several acres are flat but wooded. Small town 7 miles away has a new farm market and larger town 20 miles away has one also. 1/4 mile to State Road. Good deer hunting area. It's listed with Rocky Top Realty in Crossville, TN.
Exactly, there's an economy of scale associated with land.The problem is that often 5-25 acres have to be sub-divided off of 160 acres (quarter section) or 640 acres (section) and there are surveying and legal fees incurred to do such.
Sometimes it is simply better to buy a larger piece of property as it is nearly always cheaper per acre.
In 2004-05 we searched for the "right" 20 acre parcel in NE KS close to the fort where I was stationed. We ended up buying 40 because the 20 acre parcels were so close to being the same price that we just went with 40. That parcel went for $110K due to the road frontage and 9 acre pond. This June I bought "the back" 40 for $90K after a failed auction. Our land prices here are still going up.
Across the major road they're selling 10 acre parcels with pond/lake access for $75-80K. In this area you can get around 160 acres for $2200 an acre or 5-10 acres for $5-10K an acre. Generally larger is cheaper per acre.
Chuck
10,000/acre...what?! Are you looking in downtown Williamsport? I did a quick search and found many not even close to 10,000/acre. Travel up 15 and it gets real cheap real quick.
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