ILLINOIS LAND AUCTIONS

Sterling Land Company is primarily a traditional farm brokerage company. We list land for sale at a specified price and attempt to locate buyers interested in making an offer. With the rapid increase in the value of land, many have turned to land auctions in an attempt to drive the price even higher.

Sterling Land Company agents have conducted land auctions in the past. When a client believes that the auction format is the best choice for them, Sterling Land Company is happy to accommodate. In certain situations, land auctions can be a very effective method of creating buzz and driving the price higher.

For every successful land auction where land brought a higher value than most anticipated, there is a land auction that failed to secure a buyer. Predictably, we all hear of the shocking amount a farm brought at auction. On the other hand, nobody wants to gossip about the land auction that failed to run the price up.

A land auction format creates the potential for increased value when several bidders all really want a property. However, it can also reveal to interested parties that nobody is willing to pay a certain price. This places the seller at a disadvantage since any buyer now knows that there are no competing buyers. When this happens, a seller is often forced to sell at a lower price than they could have gotten using a traditional listing.

In certain situations, land auctions do work to the seller’s advantage. These include farms that appear to have many highly motivated local buyers. Pitting local land owners against one another, in an open forum, can pry upon their ego and encourage them to bid more then they otherwise would. Winning the land auction over an adversary becomes more important than paying a reasonable price for the land. Situations like these are hard to predict, but do occur.

Land auctions are popular when a seller desires a quick close and a cash offer. While these attributes are not specific to land auctions, sellers that wish to entertain only these types of buyers can easily specify certain criteria to all the potential purchasers at once.

Since conducting an auction requires that a purchaser be present, many land auctions fail to attract potential out of town investors. These individuals simply don’t have the time to travel to every land auction for the chance to purchase a farm. Investors are more likely to purchase land through traditional methods.

When deciding the time has come to sell the farm, Sterling Land Company is here to assist you. Although traditional listings are the safest bet for a high price and stress free transaction, land auctions have proven effective in some situations. Whichever method is right for you, Sterling Land Company can get the job done.