Land Auctions
Should Your Illinois Land Go to Auction?
A set date, open bidding and a price everyone can see. Jared Williams, Managing Broker and Auctioneer, Archer Realty & Auction
An auction is not a last resort. For the right property it is the cleanest way to sell: every serious buyer competes on the same day, and the market sets the price in the open. For the wrong property, a private listing will do better. I am licensed to do both, so here is how I decide.
Numbers below are from public surveys. Updated November 2026.
How Illinois land is selling
Method Share of 2025 sales
Private listing 42%
Public auction 41%
Auction in tracts 10%
Sealed bid 7%
Share of 2025 Illinois farmland sales by method (farmdoc daily, April 2026). Public auctions peaked at 53% of sales in 2023. In 2025 private sales edged back ahead as buyers got more careful.
When auction fits
Estates and family partnerships. Every heir and partner can see exactly how the price was reached.
A deadline. A sure sale date matters more than waiting on one buyer.
More than one likely buyer. Good tillable or hunting ground that neighbors, operators and investors all want.
Ground that splits. Offered in tracts, each buyer can bid on the piece they want.
When a listing fits better
One buyer in mind
A neighbor or tenant who wants it and will pay a fair price.
Terms to negotiate
A lease back, or a closing months out.
A thin market
A property only a few people will want, where buyers need time to find it.
Selling in tracts
A lot of farms are part tillable and part timber, and the buyers for each are different people. Offered in tracts, the farmer can bid on the field and the hunter on the timber, and the whole farm can still sell as one if a single buyer outbids the pieces.
How my auctions run
Plan
We walk the property, order title work, review the lease and set the terms: the date, the reserve, and whether it sells as one tract or several.
Market
Three to four weeks of marketing to farmers, investors and hunters, with a showing date so buyers can walk it.
Register
Bidders register and are approved before they can bid.
Bid
Bidding runs online, or online with a simulcast at my office. Anyone with an internet connection can compete.
Close
If the high bid meets the reserve, it sells. Closing is generally about 30 days after the sale.
I do both, so I will tell you which one fits your property. Settling an estate? Start with the inherited farmland checklist.
What clients say
“He is honest, does what he tells you, just a wonderful person to do business with.”
Barbara G., selling farmland
“Jared helped me acquire my first farm.”
Geoff M., buying farmland
Keep looking
STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Auction Questions, Answered.
How does an online land auction work?
Bidders register and are approved, then bid online over a set window. Every bid is public, so buyers see where the price is and can respond. When bidding closes, the high bid wins if it meets the seller's reserve, and closing generally follows about 30 days later. Some of mine also run as a simulcast, with bidders at my office and online at the same time.
Will my land sell for less at auction?
Not when the property fits. Auction puts every serious buyer in competition on the same day, so the price is set by the two strongest bidders, not by one buyer negotiating alone. It can come up short when there are only one or two likely buyers. That is why I tell you which method fits before we set a date.
How long does a land auction take?
Generally three to four weeks of marketing leading up to the sale date, then closing about 30 days after the sale. Planning and title work come first, so from the first conversation to closing is usually a couple of months, not the many months a listing can sit.
Is there a reserve price at a land auction?
Usually. Each property can have a reserve, a minimum price we set together before the auction that is not made public. If bidding does not reach it, the property does not have to sell. The only auctions with no reserve are absolute auctions, which sell to the high bidder at any price, and the terms always say which kind it is.
Who buys land at auction in Illinois?
Mostly the same people who buy it any other way. Farmers bought 58% of Illinois farmland in the latest survey, most of them local operators, and individual investors bought 34%. An auction puts all of them on the same property on the same timeline, along with hunters when the ground has timber.
Your property
Should yours go to auction?
Text me the county, the acres and what you are hoping for. I will tell you whether auction or a listing fits, and why. No cost, no obligation.
Archer Realty & Auction LLC | Athens, IL and Augusta, IL
Illinois Broker License 481.013823 | Illinois Auction License 444.000587
General market information. Auction terms are set for each property.
Sources: farmdoc daily, 2026 Illinois Farmland Price Expectations (April 2026); ISPFMRA 2026 Illinois Land Values and Lease Trends (April 2026).
Always Upward.
Archer Realty & Auction LLC | Athens, IL and Augusta, IL
Illinois Broker License 481.013823 | Illinois Auction License 444.000587
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Always Upward.