It had to happen sometime. And a new statewide survey by the Realtors Land Institute shows that Iowa farmland has declined in value over the past year. The Iowa chapter released the results of the March 2024 Land Trends and Values Survey this week.
The survey showed a 3.1% decrease between September 2023 and March 2024. That continued a trend, albeit much smaller, from the previous six months. Land values dropped 0.2% statewide between March 2023 and September 2023.
Northeast Iowa saw the largest land value decline: -4.8%.
West Central Iowa had the second highest drop: -4.7%.
No region of Iowa experienced an increase in land values.
South Central Iowa saw the smallest decline: -1.8%.
And Northwest Iowa showed the second smallest decrease: -2.1%.
The overall statewide decline follows the survey’s previous two years’ results that showed values on the rise.
The survey released last March showed a 12-month land value increase of 3.6%.
The survey released in March 2022 reflected a 12-month land value increase of 32.9%.