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Land marketing firm sees success in online auctions
COVID-19 has shut down most live auctions, but some are finding new success though online platforms.
Eric Sarff is the Vice President of Murray Wise Associates in central Illinois. He tells Brownfield they recently held an online farmland auction using sealed bids.
“Bidders had a chance to submit one bid, their best bid, to us and at the end of the marketing period we opened up all of the bids and our client chose the combination of bids they had issued the highest price for.”
He says that sale drew in both local farmers and out of state investors with the final sale price on par with similar pricing in Champaign County.
“I think it worked out well for all parties. The seller received a very good price and the buyers that were local got a chance to buy property that was very close to their existing operation.”
Sarff expects the return of traditional auctions after the pandemic but says online auctions will be more common as younger generations transition into buying land.
