What is my land worth?

Last updated on July 17, 2026

📺 Watch Our Podcast Episode: Inherent Difficulties in Appraising Farmland

A list price is often seen as the maximum price that a seller can expect for their land. In reality, it’s a guesstimate of value based on past sales, much akin to a quick appraisal.

Appraisals work well when dealing with movable assets but have limited application when it comes to farmland. The price of a used 2023 X9 JD combine in Rosetown, SK with 400 HRS should be very close to what they are selling for in Red Deer, AB. If the prices get out of line, buyers merely buy in the weaker market and transport goods until prices come into line, a process known as arbitrage. Farmland however is not subject to arbitrage as farmland cannot be moved.

With movable assets, virtually all of the value tends to be intrinsic to the object itself. External factors such as where it is located factor little in price, which is the exact opposite of what occurs with farmland. Numerous external factors can have a huge influence on the price of land such as demographics of neighbors – namely are they exiting or buying; is there perhaps a river that cuts off half the buyers; is there a tight concentration of buyers; or does the land fit perfectly with a neighbor's existing assemblage. All factors that an appraiser cannot put a value on, however, in the end will have a significant effect on the final price.

It is because of these inherent flaws in setting a list price for land that buyers have little confidence in a list price and often suspect it is inflated. Sellers, by using a list price, cap their land value in advance, often based upon comparisons that may not have the same external factors driving the price.

At CLHbid.com we have taken land that was previously listed and not sold and later sold it for double its list price solely because buyers get confidence the value is there when out-tendered by someone else.

True price discovery using escalating tender by CLHbid.com is key in maximizing value for farmland.