If you are looking to sell your property, you may be wondering if taking it to auction is the best way to maximize the potential value of your land. Identifying the best listing option for your property comes down to the following considerations. Learn how to best leverage existence of trusts and estates, the income production history, and the income and parceling potential of your property.
Auction Criteria #1: Income Production
Many properties that do well at auction have one thing in common: they have a strong history of producing income. Tillable farmland, pasture land, cattle grazing land, and timber tracts are all perfect examples of desirable practices that will entice buyers to consider purchasing your property. Land with historical data showing steady and reliable income production go a long way toward increasing the marketable value of your ranch or farm at auction.
When gathering information on current income production, your Land Specialist will suggest you share or gather information on your land’s soil quality, recent harvest yields, and historical crop reports for both tillable farmland and pasture land. In addition, data outlining the success or potential of your timber tracts are an important step in building your property’s auction profile.
Auction Criteria #2: Income Potential
Even if your land is not currently producing income, a thorough analysis of your property may reveal potential income streams that would increase its value at auction. Potential tillable or pasture land is especially valuable for auction buyers.
In addition, active land leases for hunting or farming may reveal income potential that would attract the right buyers to your property at auction. Whitetail Properties Land Specialist Justin Mason suggests having all leases in writing, even if the contract seems simple.
Depending on your property type, we might suggest completing a timber appraisal before listing your property for auction. Potential buyers will see the increased value in your land with a solid timber profile that includes acreage and tree types available.
If you plan to auction land used for hunting, we suggest less bush hogging in order to increase areas for cover and bedding for wildlife. For deer, these areas are essential and lead to larger, healthier bucks and deer populations.
Auction Criteria #3: Parceling Potential
Joe Gizdic, Director of Ranch and Farm Auctions at Whitetail Properties Real Estate, shares that larger tracts of land that can be parceled into smaller segments make your property an exceptionally good candidate for auction. While this consideration does require a thorough land survey – a step that will need to be completed during the sale of your property whether you sell at auction or traditional listing – the presence of a parceling option opens your property to a larger number of potential qualified buyers.
Auction Criteria #4: Trusts and Estates
Trusts and estates are often mandated to complete any land sales through auction rather than through traditional listing. Family trust settlements can sometimes be challenging to maneuver, making it even more important to have the right auction sales support team on your side.
Making the decision to sell your property at auction
Completing a thorough property analysis is one crucial step for understanding the value of your property and its suitability for sale at auction. Soil maps, crop reports, fertility records, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) enrollment status, and EPH documentation are some of the measures your Land Specialist will use to create a comprehensive analysis of your property.
All this information, along with a comparative analysis of nearby ranch or farmland sales, will help determine how to harness your property’s highest value. Making the decision to sell your property is a big one, and you owe it to yourself to have a solid set of information available – and a team who will work to protect your interests, help you reach your goals, and understand the true value of your property.
At Whitetail Properties Real Estate, we use every tool at our disposal as well as the set of characteristics above to help you decide whether to sell your property at auction or through traditional listing methods.
With Ranch & Farm Auctions, LLC, the auction division created by our team to support buyers and sellers of ranches and farms nationwide, we help you maximize your property’s value and make the most of your investment or family legacy.
