Land prices: it finally happened
 

About two years ago, my father predicted that land prices in southern Illinois would hit 5K an acre in the near future. I thought that he was full of it. Well, in the space of two years, the asking price for land jumped up to 3K an acre. This past weekend, i was in Illinois and saw a 300 acre piece of land advertised for 5 to 5500 an acre depending on the particular tracts involved. I don't think i will be buying any more land soon unless i win the lottery.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Absolutely crazy. We hunt in So. Illinois every year and I saw some crap ground going for 3500 an acre the other day, but 5000 is freakin nuts...

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Well, between the deer hunting craze and rising demand for corn for ethanol, we are seeing the rural land boom. But, the silver lining is that such land is much less likely to be wasted on strip malls and subdivisions.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Isn't it great?

Better cozy up with a farmers daughter real soon, and even that wont be a sure bet.

That's the way it's going, old farmers die, and his kids sell it off to the highest bidder before the old man's funeral is over.

In Morgan Co, the tillable prices are still higher than the untillable prices, but it's getting closer by the day.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

It only sells for what people are willing to pay for it. Until the parcels stop selling the prices will keep climbing. It makes sense to me. Every year there is less rural land available and every year there are more people. I dont think it will ever go down, at least not for long.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

I kick myself every day for not buying a bunch of land when it was down around 1000 an acre. I was fortunate to buy 19 acres of woods when you could still get it for 1300 an acre. Between that and having a lot of good neighbors and farming cousins, I have plenty of space to hunt. But, I really feel for a lot of other folks

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

I bought an 80 five years ago cause I saw what was happening. Got it just over 1k an acre. If I hadnt got it then, there is no way I could get it today at these prices.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Here in the northern part of Michigan's lower penninsula, high & dry 10 acre wooded parcels are going for as much as $80,000. People are snapping them up and building 5,000 sq. ft. homes on them.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Here in Brown county Indiana the average price for an acre of land is about $7,500 and can go a lot higher. Lots on the lakes here, about 1/4 of an acre, can go for well over $30,000. It is getting way out of control. But like was said before, if people continue to pay for it, then the prices have no where to go but up.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Well, the crazy thing is that my neck of the woods is nothing special and is way off the beaten path. No big lakes or scenery, so-so farmland, so-so local economy. The deer hunting is great, but it is great everywhere in southern Illinois. Just makes me wonder what the prices are getting up to on the edge of greater St. Louis or chicago.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

you have it good for 3-5,000 an acre the county i live in sells land for 10,000-20,000 an acre. such bs. but i have 8 acres that i got for 500 an acre 20 years ago.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

The same thing is happening here in western kentucky, with our great deer and turkey hunting, the land prices are starting to sky rocket. Right now i can still get some for about 1,200 an acre but i mean i am having to look hard there is already quite a bit going for 2,000 an acre. We have alot of investors from georgia,florida,and some from north carolina buying alot of our land. They know whats happening and want it to hunt and hold onto for a little while. If our deer keep growing like they are it wont be long till the land is way up there in price. I am trying to get in why the gettin is good.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

buy what you can while you can

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

here in Central Ohio, they are selling 2 acre lots for 25-35K.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Yeah, suburban lots are seeling higher than rural farm ground, Whats new. I know of a subdivision thats sold a few lots for 60K/ac. So does that make all ground in IL 60K/ac???????

He started this thread to talk about rural farm/hunting ground, not gated communities. There's still a difference in some places.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

The problem is that the lines are now really blurry between subdivision-type land and hunting/agricultural land in some places. Here where i live in Ohio, you can drive 5 miles out in the country and land that should be hunting ground is not getting sold for 60K for an 2 acres. If you want more elbow room, you can drive 10-15 miles out and buy a 5 acre "mini-farm" for about 80K. Thankfully, its not that bad in the part of Illinois where i live because the closest urban sprawl is St. Louis 120 miles to the west.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

So where in the devil do you live?

Farm country around here is going for about 3000-3500 per acre. If the land is closer to a city and has a lot of road frontage then it is going to be much higher because someone is going to buy it to sell to city-folk who think that 5 acres is a "farm" and that it somehow makes them "living in the country". Almost laughable, but not when you think of all of the land that is being destroyed because of the numbskulls and money hungry land developers. Like someone said, land will continue to go up so long as people continue to allow it to.

In southern Ohio where the land is good for nothing but hunting and logging, it is much cheaper and one can still find some big tracts for 1,500 or so an acre.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Huntingson,

I've been living just north of Dayton for the past four years. But, i was raised primarily in southern Illinois and own land and do most of my hunting and trapping over there. So, I tend to talk about Illinois like I still live there.

Yeah, I've heard that southern Ohio is kind of a last frontier in terms of low land prices. There is a visitor to this site who occasionally advertises his company that sells tracts of land from 5 to 100 plus acres down in that area, and the prices seem reasonable, under current circumstances. I would love to buy about 20 acres of woods down there, but am still paying off my 19 acres of woods in Illinois.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Gottcha.I hear you about wanting more. I don't think I could ever have enough land.Mead was selling a ton of land a couple years ago, but I was in no position to buy any. Too bad too. Some of it was really neat land.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

West Central Illinois

A 80 acre all tillable farm sold for $6,250 per acre,($500,000) and a 100 acre plus pastured timber with very little cutable trees sold for $3200 per acre. These aren't close to any towns and would be consided rural areas.

What is the Mega Millions worth today?

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

I am from NJ and I hear allot about local guys from my areadoing group buysand leasing in Ohio and Illinois. I think allot of your competition comes from the east and outfitters in general. Its sad that it has gotten to this point but backeast were used to it.I just bid on a piece in the country area of NJ (yes thereis still farmland left in NJ) 6acreswith a 1 acre building lot for 250K and its not really rural.I also think that more people from the east aremoving to your areas and that is driving the prices up when they sell there shoe box house out here for 400kgo midwest with cash in hand.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

That's reasonable compared 2 what is going on up here in my neck of the woods. The avg. $ is hovering $10-15K/acre. Land is being bought up by the good folks w/the big incomes in the state down south of us.2 them, it is a good deal compared2 what they pay. I called earlier this yr. on a 35 acre vacant parcel. Nothing fancy, no creeks, mature woods or any of that. Mainly swamp & scrub. asking price: $390K. Can u belive that?!!![:@] I choked when I heard the $. If I win the lottery, then maybe I can afford some small pc. of land.

RE: Land prices: it finally happened
 

Twelve years ago,when I was making my retirement plans,I bought 53 acres of timber for $550.00 an acre.Two years ago an adjoining 44 acres went up for sale and I jumped on it for $1900.00 an acre.I consider both purchases the best investment I have ever made.The price will only keep rising and It gives me my own private place to hunt and I have started to make money with it by select cutting some of the timber.If anyone has the money for an inital investment,you will never lose by buying land.

Bill