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Recreational land sales not following cropland trends

A certified real estate appraiser with Compeer Financial says while farmland values have backed off the peaks seen earlier this decade; recreational land is another story.

Ethan Koch, who’s based in west central Illinois, tells Brownfield…

“Cropland values have seemed to plateau, stabilize, even retract a little bit.”  He says, “The recreational market has continued to see rapid acceleration. We cover a benchmark farm in my area and from 2019 to present that farm has appreciated over 130%.”

He says it’s a reflection of the overall economy.

“We’ve observed our money supply go up.”  He says, “We’ve seen the stock market just ripping year after year, and it seems to have created some ample discretionary funds.”

Koch says the number of recreational land sales in his area is down slightly from recent years, but he says it’s still an active market for landowners looking to sell.  

AUDIO: Ethan Koch – Compeer Financial