Iowa Real Estate Assessments

I just recieved my 2013 Iowa Real Estate Assessment. On a couple of my parcels on ag land the assessment has jumped more than 50% over the prvious assessment. On my two lots containing my dwelling and shop the assessment has also increased substantionally. On the two lots with the house and shop there have been absolutely no changes or updates done in 7 or 8 years. The house has had no improvements done in 10-12 years. I am just wondering if you other guys in Iowa are seeing this kind of increases in your assessments?

(quoted from post at 09:36:35 04/14/13) I just recieved my 2013 Iowa Real Estate Assessment. On a couple of my parcels on ag land the assessment has jumped more than 50% over the prvious assessment. On my two lots containing my dwelling and shop the assessment has also increased substantionally. On the two lots with the house and shop there have been absolutely no changes or updates done in 7 or 8 years. The house has had no improvements done in 10-12 years. I am just wondering if you other guys in Iowa are seeing this kind of increases in your assessments?

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Yes, our assesment went up also. House and shop on 1 3/4 acres. No improvements or upgrades in at least 12 years.

Did the mill rate that they use to determine your actual tax change also? Sometimes they are up against a maximine rate they can charge so they increase the valuation and lower the mill rate and work off those figures for awhile. Prices for land sales might have something to do with it also.

Read anything about record land prices in Iowa??? These are making all the land values sky rocket. My farms have doubles in value in the last five years on paper. The assessed taxes have gone up 20% too.

I want to see them go back down as fast when these land values crash in the future.

Here is the first paragraph of the 2012 Iowa Land value survey:
The 2012 Iowa Land Value Survey covers one of the most remarkable years in Iowa land value history. The estimated $8,296 per acre state average for all grades of land was the highest ever recorded by the Iowa State University land value survey. The 23.7 percent increase in value makes 2012 the third year in a row where values have increased more than 15 percent. This is the first year where average county values reached levels over $10,000."
"
Link to the full 2012 Iowa Land Value survey

That is the reason why I don't own any land anymore. I had bought a small ranch in 1990. Taxes was about seven hundred dollars a year. Old falling down buildings. No new construction on the place during the ten years I owned it. Every year they kept raising them. When I sold out they had raised them to thirteen hundred dollars. Probably two thousand or more now. Never got anything in return from the county for my money either. I figure if the county needs money they can go out and get a job and work for it.

assessed value on my 140 acres went up about 100k. Just got the letter yesterday.

MN is no better. Our assessed value increased by about 65K on less than 80 acres.

Our home and all outbuildings are very old and very small - they are all original to the farm. Nothing new or fancy here. It is crazy.

My real estate taxes in town are up 50 percent from three years ago. Special assesment for streets and sewer etc rebuild is more than taxes, so altogether I am paying over three times as much as I did three years ago and the value of my little shack actually went down due to housing market in town. Special assesment is only for 15 years though.

The guys that ran farmland prices in to the stratosphere recently are not going to know what to do when the assessors fully catch up to the market. Especially if we return to 1980's type profit margins per acre. I've heard repeated warnings from seed and fertilizer reps that the companies are committed to maximizing profits and are looking at the world overall and are not going to fret over a setback in North America. If we go back to 2.00 dollar corn don't count on seed and fertilizer going back to what they were the last time that happened.

Of course, those fert and seed companies can talk bold to their investors, just as the BTO farmers can with their $14,000 an acre land and 'this time its different' but reality will catch the fert and seed dealers just as it will catch the farmers. Just as it did 'last time'.

The ones really in trouble are the machinery makers and dealers, a poll on another forum all the farmers said they could double in size without much trouble or added equipment. With all the new iron sold in the past 3 years, if things break/ when things break, ain't no one gonna be buying new equipment for several years, it will just be dead.

I know Case and JD are setting up the mega- dealers in a hurry to try to get too big to fail, so they can quickly drop down to a dealer or 3 per state, but still, its gonna hit them -hard-. We won't recognize farm dealerships after that, will be a total different game.


Seed and fert you need every year more or less, only matter is to come to a price. Machinery is a different game right now. Folks are way over bought.

Paul

My tax's go up every single year...but it's all
due to the big spenders on our school board,
whose dreams are for 13 children in each class,
and 4 year old kindergarten, (babysitting).
If enough people would vote to put them out of
office and get some tightwads in, things might
change!

I agree with a lot of what you are saying. The BTO's have broken away from the mentality of working 12 hours per day then knocking off for dinner and the local beer joint. Find trusted retirees for the day then have the family take over and run most of the night. The equipment stretches over far more acres that way.
All the machinery companies are marching towards multi-location franchises. Some locations will no doubt close if they have to go back to the days of being dependent on parts and lawn tractors like they were in the 1980's.
It's a different game this time for seed and fertilizer. Back in the 1970's and 1980's companies such as Dekalb and Pioneer were heavily dependent on North America but not anymore. Back in the 1970's and 1980's most of the fertilizer sales occurred in Europe and North America. Countries such as India flat out would not invest in fertilizer to help their domestic production but that has changed in the last ten plus years. Cut to the chase these wholesalers of fertilizers and retailers of seed are not going to be so willing to engage in "clean the warehouse or yard" type pricing to get product out with other selling alternatives. You are right that it is a matter on agreeing on price. But it may be a price the bottom quarter, third, or half of US growers cannot live with. Not a killer if you are working some very productive land and can afford some erosion of profit. If you are just getting by it may force serious changes in your operation.