Iowa Auctioneer Farmland Estate and Real Estate Auctions

Smith Auction Marketing Now Offers Online Simultaneous Bidding

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 11:59:47 -0500

At Smith Auction Marketing our relentless pursuit to offer the best attended auctions, make the best use of technology and achieve top dollar for our clients we have completed our recent effort to take our Live Public Auctions online. Our Live Public Auctions will not be simultaneously broadcast online at the same time. Onsite and online bidders will compete for your property at the same time. This option allowsanybody in the world to bid at your auction, and since they have been prescreened and required to post a deposit before bidding you can feel secure in knowing the transaction will complete.

This online option also allows us the ability to accept prebids on your auction so you don't have the worry and concern all the way up to auction day what your property might bring. Prebids can not be viewed by the public but can be viewed by our staff. This will be a great indication of what the property will bring and perhaps if you reserve has been met prior to sale day.

If you are selling real estate in Iowa contact us about our auction services. Real estate auctions bring real buyers, right now with closing in 60 days. Only auctions can promise you an offer on the table in 30 days for market value. Our sales include Iowa farmland, recreational land, estates, machinery and farm sales now with the great ability to welcome online bidders to your sale. Visit our Iowa Auctioneering website or click on the Proxibid logo to see our upcoming auction with online bidding.

Iowa Land Auction 150 Acres Fremont County Iowa September 21

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:43:31 -0500

This 150 acre property with pond will be offered at public land auction on September 21, 2008. This will be an onsite auction at the farm. From Thurman Iowa go east on County Road J24 to 250th Avenue. Go south on 250th to the location. Watch for signs that will be placed the day of the sale.

Additional information on this farmland auction in Iowa, along with terms and conditions can be found on my auction website at www.GoWithJason.com

Located in Southern Iowa this property could be what you want it to be. Views from the top of the property provide one of the best views in the Loess Hills where you might put a home. If you are interested in a hobby farm or Iowa hunting land at the right price this is just the place you are looking for. With plenty of space, pasture and water you'll do well here. This area is known for great whitetail hunting and this property lies perfectly between the large timber tracts to the west and agricultural fields to the east.

Pre-bids now being accepted at ProxiBid.

Click the logo for more information.

Type of Listing: Public Auction
Price: Land Auction
County: Fremont Iowa
Nearest Town: Thurman Iowa
Taxes: TBD
Property Type: Agriculture, Recreation, Hunting, Fishing, Horse Property, Pasture, Building Lot
Total Acres: 150m/l
Timber Acres: 5
Water Acres: 7

Listing Details:

Topography: Rugged, Rolling
Surface Water: Pond
Structures/Dwellings:
Description of structures: No structures on this property
Services Available: Propane

Property Description:

Description: Currently this property is leased for pasture generating $8500 per year income. A small portion of the property was tilled and planted to soybeans as well and tilling the land is possible.

Income:

Agriculture: Formerly row cropped, and only partially row cropped and pastured now.

Rent: $8500 for pasture rent

Hunting Leases: None
Biological Evaluation:

Biological Evaluation of Property: This property has a large pond stocked with bass, bluegill and catfish. Deer and turkey sign have also been observed on this farm. Neighboring properties contain large tracts of timber and agricultural fields which benefit this property.

Contact Information

Smith Auction Marketing Company

Iowa Auctioneer Jason Smith

402-250-1006

Listed by Whitetail Trophy Properties

108 N. Monroe Street

Pittsfield, IL 62363

1800-971-7042

Jason Smith is an Auctioneer and licensed real estate salesperson in Iowa.

Section 1031 Exchanges - Tax-Deferred or Tax-Free?

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:47:47 -0500

Via Ken Tharp - Section 1031 Exchanges, Iowa/U.S.:

Did you know that after you use a Section 1031 exchange to acquire new property, you will face the same tax-related issues when you decide to sell that property? Is there any way around paying capital gain taxes when you sell your property? With the issuance of Rev. Proc. 2008-16 and some advance planning, there are now two answers to that question instead of one. The one answer we always used to have was, "Yes, there is a way, but you have to die to accomplish it." (When a property owner passes away, property owned passes to heirs at a stepped-up basis, i.e., the value of the property at the time of death. If the heir(s) sell for that value, there is no capital gain. Helpful for your heirs, but not too much that you can do with it.) That answer isn't one that most people want to hear. Now, however, there's a new, more acceptable answer in the affirmative.

Let's assume that Mr. and Mrs. Jones own a farm worth $800,000 that has a tax basis of $200,000. (Substitute "apartment building," "business location," or whatever fits your situation for "farm.") Further, let's assume that Mr. and Mrs. Jones do not live on this farm, so there is no personal residence exclusion available to shelter some of their $600,000 capital gain if they were to sell. They're not too thrilled with the prospects of being taxed on a $600,000 capital gain on this year's taxes, but they do want to sell. What to do? How about this:

Mr. and Mrs. Jones sell their farm as the relinquished property in a Section 1031 exchange.

As their replacement property in the exchange, they acquire two vacation houses, each worth $400,000 (House #1 and House #2)

Mr. and Mrs. Jones rent the two properties in accordance with the new IRS Revenue Procedure 2008-16, which sets clear requirements for vacation home property to qualify for a tax-deferred exchange.

After a period of time (at least two years to satisfy the requirements of Rev. Proc 2008-16), Mr. and Mrs. Jones sell their residence using the personal residence exclusion provisions of Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code and move into House #1.

After occupying House #1 for a period of at least two years to establish it as their personal residence, Mr. and Mrs. Jones sell it using Section 121 to exclude their capital gain and move into House #2. (I think you can finish the steps yourself.)

Can we quantify the benefits of such a strategy? Mr. and Mrs. Jones exclude the original $600,000 of capital gains from taxation. In addition, they can shelter the appreciation of their vacation homes over the period of time they own them (to the extent of the $500,000 limit on each residence). This strategy results in three interrelated benefits:

The exiting of the business of owning the farm land (or apartment house, or whatever),

The exclusion of otherwise taxable capital gains, and

A potentially large addition to their liquid assets for retirement.

Is this legal? Darned straight it is.It may or may not be something that you or your client would ever want to actually implement, but perhaps it will help you better realize the tremendous benefits that Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code affords us all when we plan properly.

(We strongly urge you to consult your tax advisor to see how this exit strategy could apply in your situation.)

******

Please consider IOWA EQUITY EXCHANGE as your source for answers to your questions about Section 1031 like-kind tax-deferred exchanges. Contact us at your convenience for prompt, accurate information. Please think of us for your next exchange.

Ken Tharp

Providing Qualified Intermediary services for Section 1031 tax deferred exchanges all over the United States. Headquartered in Iowa, our services are available in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and all other states.

INTEGRITY. PRECISION. SECURITY.

Copyright © 2008 By Ken Tharp, All Rights Reserved. * Section 1031 Exchanges - Tax-Deferred or Tax-Free? * Contact Ken Tharp for information on Section 1031 tax-deferred exchanges anywhere in the United States.

The Farm Bill Does Not Alter the Definition of “Like-Kind” in Regards to Section 1031 Exchanges

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:41:13 -0500

Via Ken Tharp - Section 1031 Exchanges, Iowa/U.S.:

In order to clarify things in the mind of anyone who is uncertain about it, the farm bill that was passed by Congress does not include the language about like-kind status that those of us in the exchange industry were concerned about. The Senate version of the bill sought to redefine the term “like-kind” as it applies to agricultural ground. The crux of the change was to make land that generated any sort of subsidy from the government for its owner non-like-kind to any other real estate investment. The central objection to that provision, in my opinion, is that the government essentially imposed the subsidies on farmers over the years and it is not equitable to now make it so those same farmers could not exchange out of their long-term investments into something more manageable in their later years.

While this is good news indeed, investors and real property owners all across the country should remain vigilant with regard to potential changes in Section 1031. The mere idea that Congress took a shot at changing like-kind status as a means to raise additional funding for their other activities is cause for concern. Considering the possibility of chipping away at the provisions of Section 1031 is frightening.

Ken Tharp

Providing Qualified Intermediary services for Section 1031 tax deferred exchanges all over the United States. Headquartered in Iowa, our services are available in Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and all other states.

INTEGRITY. PRECISION. SECURITY.

Copyright © 2008 By Ken Tharp, All Rights Reserved. * The Farm Bill Does Not Alter the Definition of “Like-Kind” in Regards to Section 1031 Exchanges *

Auction Industry to Grow 2.3 Percent in 2008 Decrease 2.7% in Real Estate Market

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:06:26 -0500

Its proving that previous big gains in the real estate market by the auction industry are not going to be topped this year. With big gains in the last 5 years, and growth in the last 6 in the real estate market crisis the National Auctioneers Association is reporting a decrease of 2.7% in real estate auctions despite growth of 2.3% in the live auction business. As we hit what may be the worst of the housing and mortgage crisis that comes as somewhat of a surprise to some that felt the auction industry would see gains again this year. At this point I think and agree with Tommy Williams assessment of the challenges auctioneers are now seeing. As values have continued to fall we are at a point where sellers are just not willing to accept that their home could actually be worth what the market is bringing today. Despite the relatively small decrease in real estate auctions this year they are still at an all time high and a very valuable option for many sellers.

While these statistics are all national industry wide stats I think it would be interesting to see a state by state breakdown which isn't possible. If my suspicion is correct you would actually see gains in real estate auctions in some states and losses in others. Without any hard numbers or facts to back it up the best I can say is that, at the very least the number of real estate auction in Iowa has increased this year and I've seen more and more auctioneers jumping into the real estate business. As an auctioneer I'm also seeing more and more Realtors taking notice and partnering with auctioneers to get homes sold here in Iowa. I guess we'll never know for sure but my suspicion is that real estate auctions are more popular than ever here in Iowa.

Below is a release from the NAA about the current state of the auction industry as reported at this years national convention.

National Auctioneers Association Estimates Industry to Grow 2.3 Percent in 2008
Decrease of 2.7 Percent Reported in Residential Real Estate Market

Nashville, TN, July 9, 2008 - During the opening session of the 59th International Auctioneers Conference and Show in Nashville, Tennessee, Dr. James Leiman of Morpace, Inc. announced the results of the industry's mid-year report to the members of the National Auctioneers Association. Dr. Leiman reported that if current consumer trends continue within the live auction industry, gross sales will grow 2.3% in 2008. The 2.3% percent growth during the first half will result in estimated gross sales of goods and service sold at live auction totaling $276.8 billion. This translates to six consecutive years of growth within the industry. In 2007, the live auction industry grew 5.3% with over $270 billion in goods and services sold by auctioneers in the United States.

While automobile auctions continue to dominate the industry with $87.8 billion in gross sales in 2007, the fastest growing sector of the live auction industry is real estate auctions. Real estate auction sectors include: residential, commercial/industrial and land/agricultural. In 2007, the auction industry sold approximately $58.5 billion in real estate assets. Total sales growth within residential real estate auctions has grown 46.6% between 2003 and 2007. Dr. Leiman reported that the pace of real estate auctions has slowed and gross sales have decreased in the first half of 2008. Gross sales in residential real estate decreased 2.7% in residential real estate, 7.1% in commercial and industrial real estate, and 2.3% in land and agricultural real estate.

"While auctioneers have witnessed tremendous growth in real estate auction sales over the past five years, auctioneers are witnessing more challenges in today's housing market," said NAA president Tommy Williams, CAI. "Auctions set the market value and sellers are uneasy with the realization that their property is only worth what the consumer is willing to pay and are concerned about a loss in their properties market value. In addition to seller apprehension, today's buyers are concerned with purchasing assets in an uncertain economy and do not see eye-to-eye with sellers on the true market value of their property."

Every January, the National Auctioneers Association unveils its annual end-of-the-year report to the public. This report provides and overview of the industry, as well as highlights growth within sectors of the auction industry (i.e. real estate, charity, art, antiques and collectibles, etc.). To view a copy of the past three years of reports visit www.auctioneers.org and click on Auction Industry Stats.

Real Estate Auctions Deliver SOLID Results

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:27:17 -0500

In today's slow moving real estate market are you having trouble getting your home noticed?

Real estate auctions can deliver the results you need. In fact, a real estate auction can put cash on the table in 60 days from the very first day you sign the listing agreement with the auctioneer.

The first 30 days are spent marketing the property and the sale is held near the 30th day. Closing is set for 30 days after the sale and often occurs before that time so you can expect to have your home sold in 45-60 days.

The first argument is likely going to be "well I won't be able to get what I want for it" You may be absolutely right and you might be wrong. Sometimes real estate sells at auction for more than the seller wanted to ask for it through an agent. In some cases you'll never get what you want, have to have or need to get. In some cases its just not possible. I'm well aware, as are the banks that a huge portion of Americans now have negative equity in their homes today. If you are facing foreclosure its possible your bank will work with you to "short sell" your home, in which case they allow you to sell your home for less than you owe against it in satisfaction of your debt to them. This is not always the case but in todays market short sales are very common, and often a cheaper option for the bank than actually going through with foreclosure. An Auctioneer can work with your bank and help sort out the details and request the short sale if you sign an authorization for them to discuss the situation with your representative.

A home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and those numbers fluctuate constantly. If a buyer can buy a home that fits them just as well or better for a cheaper or comparable price it affects the value of your home in their mind. Buyers will compare all of their options and establish a value for your home, value is what they are willing to pay. They are willing to buy your home, at a certain price, everybody is willing to buy your home at a price that is right to them. The driving force in today's home sales is how much a buyer will pay for the home, not what the seller wants for it. If the seller wants to much why would the buyer not just walk across the street, down the block or across town and buy another home that is more appropriately priced?

How do you know if you are ready for an auction?

I believe a real estate auction should be your first choice each time for the sale of your real estate. It guarantees you do not leave even one dollar on the table, it is much easier than listing your home, and it establishes the absolute highest dollar someone is willing to pay for your property. Here are some signs that its absolutely time for an auction.

You've had your home listed with a Realtor for more than 180 days.

You've had your home listed with a Realtor for 90 days and had fewer than 3 showings.

You are tired of getting the house in order for showings to get no offer.

Feedback from lookers always revolves around price, location or condition.

You are facing foreclosure. (Call quickly)

You are being relocated, or have another reason you must sell quickly.

You are an absentee landowner and do not want to commit 6 months or more to selling property.

You are settling an estate

You have many other items to sell along with the real estate such as machinery, tools or household items.

At Smith Auction Marketing Company we work with Realtors, and while I understand they want to hang onto you as long as possible to recoup the money they have into marketing your property, they do have the option of working with an auctioneer and splitting commission no differen than they would with another real estate agent. If you are sitting at home reading this I can only assume you are motivated to get your home sold, recommend to your agent the possibility of partnering with an auctioneer to sell your home.

For you to be successful with an auction you have to be ready, willing and able to sell your home. This includes a realistic view of what you will get for your home and understanding the highest bidder may be below what you want for the home. You may get what you want and more if your home is marketed correctly, either way IT WILL get an offer on the table that you can work with.

What is the alternative? Languishing in the MLS for another 6 months, 12 months, 18 months? They are out there, homes that have been listed for over 18 months. There are more of them than ever now. When I first was licensed as a real estate agent I was told that I was to call all my sellers each week, and even if there was no activity on their listing I was to tell them we had a few calls on it but the callers thought the price was a little high. This was supposed to prompt clients to reduce their price and make the listing easier to sell. I value my integrity and have always felt honesty was a better policy, after all its my job to give good honest advice.

Do yourself a favor and call real estate auctioneer today, get your home sold in 60 days.

The Best Iowa Auctioneers

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:58:58 -0500

The best Iowa Auctioneers, or at least those competing to be the best Iowa auctioneer this year will all come together on Tuesday, August 12, 2008 in Des Moines, Iowa to compete against each other in a bid calling championship. On February 2, 2008 in Des Moines, Iowa 30 contestants competed at the annual Iowa Auctioneers Association convention and the field was narrowed to 20 auctioneers that would move on to the state final.

Scott Stutzman - Mt. Ayr, IA
Leroy Hoffman - Titonka, IA
Steve Maynes - DeSoto, IA
Steve Gaul - Hawarden, IA
Jason Knapp - Cedar Rapids, IA
Jeffery Craun - Boone, IA
David Wendt - Des Moines, IA
Ben Hollesen - Sioux Rapids, IA
Emily Wears - Solon, IA
Jeremy Clay - Maryville, MO
Craig Hilpipre - Cedar Falls, IA
Gary A. Littrel - Bettendorf, IA
Chris Richard - Mt. Pleasant, IA
Larry Sears - Grinnell, IA
J.J. Wise - Manly, IA
Brent McCall - Onawa, IA
R.J. Brinkmeyer - Hubbard, IA
Randy Stabe - Merrill, IA
Chad Shepard - Waterloo, IA
Eron Prevo - Bloomfield, IA

The state final to determine this years best Iowa Auctioneer will be held at the Iowa State Fair. In reality it doesn't make them the best Iowa Auctioneer but the state champion bid caller for the year, who will then represent the Iowa Auctioneers Association at events and functions throughout the year. Those competing in the competition do put a great deal of work and practice into their bid calling and with the enthusiasm and dedication of an Olympic athlete they practice day and night. If you want to see something new at this years state fair I hope you'll come out and have a great time with us there.

My Website: Iowa Auctioneer and Iowa Land For Sale

Selling A Home By Real Estate Auction

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:51:53 -0500

Today's real estate market is flooded and I mean flooded with desperate sellers. I keep abreast of the real estate market on a daily basis, after all that is how I make a living and if you are serious, and I mean serious about selling a home today you have to know one thing. Price!

I read blogs, news, industry websites, newspapers, watch industry videos on YouTube and I have constantly seen the same thing for the last 12 months. There is one side saying things are bad and getting worse and then there is the other side saying "don't read the newspaper or listen to the news it's a great time to buy a home"

Both are a little bit right but I know it's a confusing message to the consumer. My concern today is what it means to a seller and not a buyer. I'll say this about the buyer and move on. It is a good time to buy a home. I'm not saying it's the best time, but it's a good time. Mortgages are hard to get and you'll be forced to buy within your means, you'll need a larger down payment than in recent years and you'll have lots to choose from. You will however have to wade through lots of overpriced homes. Its just a fact of today, there are folks trying to sell homes, they have mortgages on them and they have to pay off the mortgage to sell it, its that simple, they have to ask that price because they do not have the means to make up the difference.

If you are a seller price is what its all about today and there is a great chance that if you purchased your home in the last 1-7 years your home is worth less today than you paid for it. To sell a home today you have to be very realistic. I mean extremely realistic. If you have a mortgage and you have to have X amount of dollars to sell and its above market value then look at your options to keep the home until things improve. If there is no immediate need to sell them then keep it. If for some reason you have to sell it, lets say your job has relocated you then you'll have to do some soul searching on what you plan to ask for your home, if in fact you want to sell it. If you are facing foreclosure then time is of the essence, do not wait, call a real estate auctioneer today. There are options and they will know how to help you.

"Lets list it and start out high and see what happens." If I had a dime for every time I had heard that. In real life its one of the silliest things you can do if you are listing a home. You are wasting your greatest opportunity to sell the home right there in the first 30 days when it comes up for sale. Its the time most people will see it, say its overpriced and move right past it. You have to ask your self "do you want to put the home up for sale, or do you want to sell your home"

If you are realistic about your price and motivated to sell your home let me give you a great option to "lets start off listing it high and see what happens" I know and you know the reason you want to start high and see what happens if because you want the most money available for your home. You don't want to leave money on the table. Make sense to me, I wouldn't want to leave money on the table either. An auction does exactly that for you, it doesn't leave any money on the table.

Selling your home at auction exposes your home to the public, it brings every interested person to the sale and they compete against each other. Your auctioneer will see to it that he reaches the highest bid, and you don't leave money on the table. Now isn't that a better option than wasting the best opportunity to sell the home? Look today and see just how many homes are on the market, can you think of a better way to get your home to stick out in the crowd than to use a different sales method than everybody else is using?

If you are serious about selling your home and you are realistic about the value of your home then call a real estate auctioneer or visit our Iowa Real Estate Auction website. I also work with and with Realtors, after all they would never think twice about splitting commission with another agent, why not an auctioneer? In the end the home is sold and thats what we are all after right?

Western Iowa Auctioneer Land Auction Monona County Iowa

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 10:55:15 -0500

Western Iowa Land Auction

Yesterday I was able to attend the large land auction in Monona County in western Iowa conducted by Ed Spencer. The land up for auction in this case was a of some historical value and a well known local operation. The large 560 acre feedlot had originally been built by the Hanson family and was later purchased by the Johnson family. The land auction was held at Moorhead Iowa while the location of the land was near Turin Iowa.

With many local folks in attendance, many of them to see who would purchase the farm and what the land would be valued at by the end of the auction. Many stories were shared about the old farm and especially the number of head they used to run in the feed lots. Even today it would be considered a large operation.

Bidding on the land started around $1500 per acre. The farm was sold based on a taxable acres of 554.81 with all of the structures and infrastructure to go with the property. It was all set up and ready to recieve a new cattle operation that very day, in fact the buyer would be allowed to place cattle on the property after signing the purchase agreement after the sale. That was very generous of the sellers, and in addition the sellers were also throwing the 95 acres of corn crop in with the sale.

By the time bidding stopped the last bid was $2200 per acre for a sale price of $1,220,582 which was right where I thought it would land in the end.

If you are thinking of selling a farm or land in Iowa give us a call today to discuss it. We sell Iowa farms and land and they are in demand today. Visit our Iowa Farm and Land website for more information on farm and land auctions in Iowa. While you may be tempted to accept an offer from a neighbor for the ease of "not dealing with it" I'm sure you won't realize a higher price than with a live public auction. Auctioneers more than pay for themselves and can put more money in your pocket.

You really want to sell? Understanding value?

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 12:26:35 -0500

Jason Smith is an Iowa Real Estate Auctioneer and member of the Iowa Auctioneers Association as well as the National Auctioneers Association.

I have many conversations with folks about the value of their property. It might be Iowa farmland or a house, after all everything has value and as an auctioneer value is important to me. Value is complex and more in-depth than I can cover in this short blog post, but I'll hit the high points from an auctioneers perspective.

In nearly every conversation with a potential seller I will always hear something along these lines. "Well I bought it 10 years ago for X amount of dollars and then I did this and that and then this to it, plus I did this, this and this and I know my neighbors down the road sold for X dollars 3 years ago so mine has to be with Z dollars now."

Certainly looking at value from that perspective would seem to be a common sense approach, but it doesn't work. If you are serious about selling real estate you've got to know, and this is the best advice I can dole out..... it just doesn't work that way. You cannot take your purchase price, add all of the things you did to it, add interest, a real estate commission and get that dollar figure today, in most cases. In some cases you can but home values have dropped and being realistic today is what will help you sell your real estate.

Value is determined through many things and in today's residential real estate market pricing is everything, I can't even begin to explain just how important pricing your home is today. Values of nearly everything fluctuates every day. If you look at the stock market you'll notice that values change on a daily basis, things go up and down based on a certain set of factors surrounding them. Certainly demand has the greatest affect on value. When demand is low and supply is high your asset drops in value. If demand is high and supply is low you'll see the value of your asset increase. Supply and demand can be used to summarize all of the factors affecting value.

All other things that affect supply and demand are sub characteristics and you see many of them affecting value today. They do not affect each area the same however. A plus for one area, may be a minus for another area. Take for instance gas prices. Gas prices are affecting today's supply and demand in the housing market where I live. Since we are on the outer fringes of the Omaha Council Bluffs metro area in western Iowa and eastern Nebraska we are starting to see folks put their homes up for sale to move closer to their employment in the city, and fewer people moving out to the country. This creates an oversupply of homes in the area and reduced demand or a minus for our area. Adding supply to a market that already had an oversupply with increased foreclosures in the last 12 months spells a real reduction in value. That very factor however is a plus for the cities of Omaha and Council Bluffs that are seeing more folks move in to avoid commutes and save on gas.

Supply has been affected by speculative building, mortgage defaults, and decreased demand while demand has been affected by a poor economy, gas prices and knee jerk reactions to the credit crisis we are seeing. It's much harder to get a mortgage today than it was 18 months ago. All of these things affect the value of your home.

If you look at that compared to the original statement above in the second paragraph you'll notice that sellers often do not think of supply and demand or current market conditions to determine value of their asset. There is no magic number to calculate the value of your house today and I'm not saying that its worth less than you paid for it, but I can tell you the best, easiest and cleanest way to determine the value of your home is with a real estate auction. Real estate auctions are the best form of appraisal you can find. Better than even hiring an appraiser to appraise your home. An appraisal is only one persons opinion of the value of your home. 3 appraisers would have 3 different opinions and NONE of them are offering you money. With a real estate auction you have someone offering you REAL CASH and not an opinion. Your auctioneer has marketed your home to every buyer interested in purchasing a home, they all came together, bid against each other and the highest bidder has just given you an appraisal for free! The most a person is willing to pay for the property is the value of your home, not what some appraiser said.

While the residential real estate market is experiencing a buyer's market today, land sales in the Midwest are in a seller's market that continues. A very different set of factors are playing into the land sales market and values of land continue to increase month to month. If you thought all real estate was the same and experiencing the same downturn today I'll explain why it's not true.

Today's grain prices are up, the stock market is down and more people are investing in the safety of farmland ownership. Farmland used to produce income is the most valuable land. This may be row cropped land for producing corn, soybeans, wheat or many other types of land. Land used for pasture of livestock comes in second in value while other lands used for timber production, recreation such as hunting usually falls 3rd in value. Determining the value of the land you are interested in selling will be determined by the amount of income it can produce, or its proximity to development. Certainly you'll see cases of land in close proximity to metro developments that will fetch a much higher price than it would if it was not in close proximity.

A reasonably steady supply of demand has not kept pace with the demand for land. Land auctions have been especially popular over the last 24-36 months with great attendance, many times with record prices set at each consecutive auction. Things continue to look bright for the future of land sales and ownership and as long as income keeps pace the value will remain steady and increase.

Could value of land fall? As I said before values fluctuate everyday up or down and if you were subject the land market to the same things the housing market is experiencing today you would see the same affect. While its highly unlikely its possible because value is affected by the supply and demand.

The distinct difference between homes and land is supply and demand. Land has a higher demand than supply today while homes are in oversupply and in low demand. In either situation an auctioneer can get you the best offer with cash on the table in 30-60 days. The alternative is to list it and let it sit on the market for months, or even years while you continue to pay the holding costs of interest, taxes and insurance. Add those up and see what you could save by calling an auctioneer today.