AMES --- The price of Iowa farmland jumped 11 percent in the past six months and 18.1 percent for the past year.

Top-quality land is now averaging more than $5,000 per acre in many parts of the state, according to the state’s ag land realtors.

The Iowa Farm and Land Chapter No. 2 Realtors Land Institute surveys its members every six months on the average value of the state’s farmland.

The latest survey showed the average price rose 11 percent from Sept. 1 to March 1. That 11 percent, combined with the 7.1 percent increase from the previous six months, puts the increase at 18.1 percent.

But, there are some differences in parcels being sold, note some of the realtors.

“Anything that is leased is not bringing a premium,” says Sam Kain, regional sales manager for Farmers National Co. in Des Moines.

Kain also says he is starting to see different types of leases being used as landowners try to take advantage of strong commodity prices.

“They’re really starting to get creative with some of these leases,” he says.

Glen Smith, president of Smith Land Service Co. in Atlantic agrees rent is an important factor in today’s land market. Farmers are looking to get land they can use instead of renting out and new owners look to capture some of the hot ag market.

“Rent is seen to have moved up. That’s a real factor in sales,” Smith says.

The realtors say high commodity prices are the No. 1 factor pushing farmland prices up.

They also say farmers and retired farmers, who are investing in land, are the biggest buyers, although there are likely some investors pulling money out of the weak stock market and putting it into land.

The realtors report 1031 exchanges are a much smaller factor than in past years, reflecting only a small number of purchases.

The bottom line is land is seen as a good investment now, both because other types of investments are doing poorly and because farmers have money to spend and see a strong outlook for agriculture.

“I think we have a very bullish market,” Kain says.

That bullishness is reflected in virtually every type of land and in every part of the state.

The average price for high-quality cropland in West Central Iowa is $5,630, compared with $4,939 six months ago and in Northeast Iowa it is $5,621, compared with $4,974 six months ago.

In Central Iowa it is $5,570, an increase from $5,064 six months ago. In East Central Iowa it is $5,469 and in Northwest Iowa it is $5,442.

In Southeast Iowa it is $5,388 and in North Central Iowa it is $5,247. The only districts still averaging under $5,000/acre for high quality farmland are Southwest Iowa at $4,747 and South Central Iowa at $3,892.

Prices for medium- and low-quality cropland also rose across the state, as did prices for non-tillable pasture and for timberland.

Timberland averages range from $1,575/acre in Southwest Iowa to $3,311 in Northeast Iowa. Average prices for non-tillable pasture range from $1,800/acre in Southwest Iowa to $2,121 in Northeast Iowa.

“I’ve seen $1,800 to $4,400 an acre on recreational (timber) land in the last year,” says Dale Caraway of Caraway Realty in Maquoketa.

“It all depends. What’s it look like? Who’s next door?”

Smith says, the bottom line is this market has moved so far so fast it’s hard to predict specific sales. But, there is little doubt the direction has been up and it hasn’t stopped moving up yet.

The increase shown in this survey is the second-highest percentage gain over six months the survey has ever shown and it is the third-highest annual increase in the approximately 30 years the survey has been done.

The dollar figure is a record high, says Troy Louwagie, survey chairman and real estate coordinator with Hertz Real Estate Services in Mount Vernon.