What are comparable sales, and where do appraisers find them for farmland?

Question

Turnrow Capital · Accepted Answer

Comparable sales — comps — are recent arm's-length sales of similar land that anchor an appraisal. For farmland, appraisers pull them from county recorder and assessor records, auction results, farm real estate brokers, ag lender databases, and services like AcreValue, then verify each sale directly with a party to the transaction.

Farmland comps are harder to assemble than house comps because rural sales are sparse — a county may see only a handful of true open-market farm sales a year. Appraisers routinely widen the search to adjacent counties or reach back 12–24 months, then adjust for market movement over time. Verification matters: recorded prices can include equipment, stored grain, or seller financing that distorts the per-acre number.

What makes a comp 'comparable' on ag land: similar soil productivity, similar water situation, similar size class (a 40-acre parcel and an 800-acre ranch attract different buyers), similar use, and an arm's-length transaction. Family transfers, estate settlements at tax value, and sales between adjacent owners get discounted or excluded.

You can help your own appraisal. If you know of recent private sales the public record understates or misses, give the appraiser the details and a contact who can verify. Appraisers are required to consider relevant data — they just have to be able to confirm it.