The Scoop
The Press Room
What's Happening in Wisconsin
Question: What is cutover land selling for in your section of the country?
Braun: Most of the time cutover property will sell for $1,500 to $2,500 an acre. You have to remember that the cutover land isn’t bare dirt. Most cutover property has been reclaimed and replanted, so it has wildlife potential, and in many places, that land may home good populations of deer and turkey.
Question: How much does mature timberland cost?
Braun: Most of the time mature timberland property will start at about $4,000 an acre, depending on the size of the acreage. Depending on the habitat components of the property, land may sell for as much as $6,000 per acre. If the land has good hardwoods, a marsh with ducks in it, and fields that can be farmed, then $6,000 per acre isn’t an unreasonable price to ask.
Question: Are you selling much farmland?
Braun: Farmlands are some of the hottest commodities we have in our state. Family farms don’t stay on the market very long in our region. A farm represents two-different sources of revenue – the appreciation and the lease potential of the property. Since the price of corn has been up lately, farmers are competing to buy farms adjacent to or close to their primary farms. In this region, farms rent from as little as $80 and $90 an acre to as much as $200 per acre. Many investors will buy either farms to rent or for hunting.
Question: What’s the size of these farms?
Braun: Most of the farms for sale are 100- to 150-acre tracts. Generally, when these acres come available, they often will sell in less than 6 months. Within a month, a landowner will start getting bids on his land. Even before a farm goes on the market, neighboring farmers will begin to bid on the right to buy that farm.
Question: Are you a seller’s or a buyer’s agent?
Braun: Since we just started our agency in January 1, 2008, we’re more of a buyer’s agent than a seller’s agent. Right now, we’re trying to get property to sell, and we’ve got investors looking for property.
Question: How did you get into real estate?
Braun: I own a machine shop with 50 employees that’s been in business for several years. About 5-years ago, we started a media company that produced hunting videos and we started shooting commercials for outdoor companies. Because of my outdoor connections, I had many people asking me to help them find and buy hunting lands. When they were trying to buy hunting property, they couldn’t find an agent who understood forest-recreation properties and could see the dream they had for a property. Also, I had a lot of friends who lost their hunting leases. Instead of looking for another lease, they decided to buy their own hunting properties. So, because the demand was here, and I was trying to help people to find and buy land anyway, I thought I might as well open a real-estate office specializing in forest-recreation lands. Since Mossy Oak Properties specializes in forest-recreation properties and supports its agents in finding, buying and selling forest-recreation properties all over the country, I felt that being a Mossy Oak Properties Realtor really fit my situation and what I was trying to accomplish in Wisconsin.
For more information on property in Wisconsin, you can write Joel Braun at Mossy Oak Properties of Wisconsin at W4695 State Highway 23/73, Princeton, WI 54968, or call (920) 481-0012, or email jbraun@mossyoakproperties.com.
Tomorrow: The Future of Forest-Recreation Lands in Wisconsin
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