December 2023

As 2023 comes to a close, we at the Kilkenny Group would like to take a moment and reach out to our clients, friends and business partners and offer our sincere thanks for your loyalty. We are proud to convey that our transaction count in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin remained equal to 2022, even considering a slight downward trend in the market. Our sales in 2022 consisted of residential, commercial, industrial, and of course agricultural properties. We are also very proud and excited to announce that Natalie Torres, a well-respected member of the Randy Erwin Team, recently joined the Kilkenny Group. Natalie brings over 25 years of expertise to our team in marketing rural properties, estates and agricultural land and will be a valued team member of Kilkenny Group!!

While segments of our business did retreat slightly, sales volume and prices for agricultural properties increased. We attribute this to a significant lack of land inventory and investors diversifying their portfolios in an effort to counteract rising inflation in late 2022 and 2023. Agricultural land prices have remained strong in our marketplace and in some instances have seen increases over the past year. Please note our summary below of the recent land sales trends. We will update the 2023 data and provide you with those findings in early 2024.

One notable difference in the agricultural market between 2021/2022 and 2023 is the decreasing commodity prices. Corn and soybean prices did retreat in 2023 to the current levels of $4.75/bu for corn and $13.65/bu for soybeans. While a decrease in commodity prices has historically resulted in a decrease in land values, we are not seeing this relationship occur in the current market. One reason for this may be the increased productivity yields and the underlying cash liquidity of investors and farmers, which is resulting in land prices continuing to hold strong.

Ownership of agricultural land has historically been an excellent means of diversifying your investment portfolio and that premise remains true today. Just as a stock certificate in a profitable company may be held for many years, it is also true with an agricultural land investment. However, even with an extended investment horizon there comes a time to make a change in one's investment holdings.

With 60+ years of combined farmland real estate experience, Kilkenny Group would be happy to guide you in marketing your land - be it a 20-acre farmette or a 400-acre, 4th generation family farm. Our experience includes tax deferred exchanges as a way to defer capital gains tax liabilities, generational transfers of land and advice on how best to market the property and at the most opportune time. If you have been considering selling your farm for any number of reasons, we would welcome the opportunity to discuss your land investment strategy with you.

Best,

Clancy Green, Natalie Torres, & Richard Ahrens