FARM LAND VALUES IN IOWA. — 5 
During the last decade the percentage increase, as well as the 
dollars per acre increase, was larger than that for any other decade 
in the history of the State. During the past year the increase in 
dollars per acre was greater than during the 50-year period from 1850 
to 1900. From 1915 to 1920, the smallest increase in the price of land 
was in the year before the United States entered the World War, and 
the largest increase was the year following the signing of the armistice. 
AVERAGE PRICES FOR 60 COUNTIES, 1918 TO 1919, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE 
PERIOD OF THE “BOOM.” 1 
TaBLE III.—Average price of improved farm land per acre and percentages of 1 imerease m 
: 60 Iowa counties, 1918 to 1919. 
Increase over esti- 
-erage | mate of March, 1918. 
Number ee : : 
of farms. per acre. 
’ | Per aere. | Per cent. 
Estimated average value per acre March, 1918, of 1370 farms 
Spsequentlycsold-1m 1919-30) eo = ae | 1,370 S104 2 Ee ayaa | pee eee 
Sales of farms, January to March inclusive, 1919..........-...-.- 127 237 $43 22. 2 
Sales of farms: 
PAT Tee ONG cepa Sees pe ea he i a oe ae 120 240 46 IAT 
fin ap (O10 See eee Sets ees ee ee eee 244 238 44 Oya 
sfbedys) <11G) ls Ras eaten eer eR a eee Ta aes | | 382 247 53 Des 
July, BUONO eS rae eee cee ee ee rome Sean Neo 367 POD 61 Sie: 
meta stel O10 rare Sek UES ot ae Ra ea Meee ye 158 - 259 65 33.5 
Septem Dela O10 = = es en ee oe ee ee 16 276 82 42.3 
All sales: 
JAanVAryctOmepLenmiber lOO ae a ee ee 1,414 248 54 27.8 
AfGbaDInoy) Seyonrevemo ge TD eae sk ee es ee oe 923 253 59 30. 4 
In order to determine the extent of change in land values in the 
region studied it was considered necessary to "ae re an estimate of the 
value of farm lands on March 1, 1918, a date about one year before 
the general public became aware of the increased activity in sales of 
land and the marked increase of land values. 
The result of 1,370 estimates of the values of individual farms in 
the 60 counties indicates an average value of $194 per acre on March 
1, 1918. This figure is $20 higher than the estimate by the Bureau 
of Crop Estimates for the State as a whole. Previous statistics for 
1915 indicated that the average value of farm land in the 60 counties 
studied is about $11 per acre higher than the average for the entire 
State. The remaining difference of $9 between the two estimates is 
attributable to the fact that the farms which changed hands most fre- 
quently in the region studied during the period of the recent activity 
were above the general average in quality for the region as a whole.” 
1 Throughout this bulletin the word ‘‘boom”’ is employed as a convenient expression to designate a 
period of unusual activity in the buying and selling of land accompanied by a considerable amount of 
speculation. 
2 A number of checks have been available, as follows: (a) The unpublished figures of the Bureau of Crop 
Estimates, quoted above; (6) results of investigations in 55 counties of the executive board of the State of 
Towa for the period from January 1, 1918, to May 1, 1919, based on sales; (c) estimates prepared by Mr. T. A. 
Polleys, tax commissioner of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, based on executors’, administrators’, 
and referees’ sales, and inheritanee tax appraisals in 19 counties; (d) results of a questionnaire sent by 
Senator H. 8. Van Alstine to bankers in all the counties of the Stave; (e) estimates by 222 hankers and real 
estate men obtained by the field agents of the Office of Farm Management; (f) estimates on 238 farms for 
which data on net rentals were obtained by field investigators of the Office of Farm Management; and (9) 
estimates obtained in farm management surveys of over 400 farms.in selected districts. 
