A farm that I have listed has had quite a bit of activity and interest from various Buyers. One of the agents that showed the property to their client, informed me that an offer may possibly be coming in. Fantastic!
I happily informed the Seller of this great news. The response I got was: “We are not accepting anything below the listed price.” The offer hasn’t come in yet and I feel like they have already turned it down. After several years of having the farm on and off the market with various agents, I thought they would be ecstatic with the news.
I understand that the farm has a lot of sentimental value and holds many memories, in which case the Seller feels the property has a high value. This factor does not have a dollar value.
What determines the market value of large acreage and farms has many different variables. First of all, is the land cleared, flat, sloping, dry, or is it swampy, mountainous and rocky, and completely wooded? The cleared, flat or sloping, and dry property is more desirable and valueable than the swampy, mountainous and rocky land because it usable while the latter is unusable.
The next step is looking at comparable farm properties to see what they sold for, what farms are currently on the market, what properties expired and what ones are under agreement. All these factors help determine the market value of the farm property.
What needs to be considered also is that large acreage is worth less per acre than smaller acreages. Remember, Buyers save in quantity.
To sum it up, before turning down any offer on a farm property, look at it first, determine what the market value and the terrain is like, then decide from there. If an offer does come in, negotiate. There is a middle ground both parties can agree on.
Besides, not that many Buyers are searching for a farm with lots of acreage.