Over 5,200 Acres of Illinois Farmland Sell at Auction This Month. Here Is How to Read the Results in Your County
What September's Auction Volume Tells the Market
More than 5,200 Illinois acres went to auction in September 2026, with sales recorded in Pike, Hancock, Henderson, Macon, and Warren counties among others. That volume is consistent with September's position as one of the two or three heaviest auction months of the year — fall auction season runs from September through November, with October typically producing the most volume as harvest progresses and estate and family transition transactions that were listed in August close before year end.
The ISPFMRA midyear survey, published earlier this fall, showed Illinois farmland values had leveled off from their 2023 to 2025 appreciation cycle, with 61 percent of member respondents expecting flat prices through December. Excellent ground was tracking near $16,369 per acre statewide on recent survey data. The September auction results, as they come in from individual counties, are the market's real-time test of that expectation — a live bid is more current than a survey response.
What a "No Sale" or Passed Tract Actually Means
Not every auction produces a sale. When a property goes to auction and the bidding does not reach the seller's reserve price, the auctioneer will typically announce the property as "passed" or announce that the property "did not sell." From the outside, this can look like a failed auction. From inside the transaction, it is information.
A passed tract tells the market something specific: the seller's value expectation and the buyers' collective willingness to pay did not intersect at auction on that day. This happens for several reasons. The reserve may have been set above the current market — a seller who priced based on 2024 sale comparables and encountered a 2026 market that has leveled off will often see their reserve not met. The property may have had a condition, access, or drainage issue that the marketing did not adequately address before auction day, causing buyers who showed up to discount their bids. Or the auction marketing may have under-developed the bidder pool — a sale with 10 registered bidders produces a different outcome than the same property with 35 registered bidders, and a thin bidder pool produces passed tracts on ground that would have sold in a more competitive environment.
A passed tract does not mean the land is worth less than it was before the auction. It means the auction as structured did not produce a transaction. The seller typically enters post-auction negotiation with the high bidder, often reaching a price close to the high bid if the gap between the high bid and the reserve is not too wide. A landowner watching a competitor's passed tract in the same county should not revise their own price estimate downward without knowing why the tract was passed — the reason matters more than the outcome.
Why Per-Acre Price by Soil PI Matters More Than the Headline Number
The farmland auction headline — "$11,500 per acre for 160 acres in Macon County" — is the number that circulates through the local network and gets cited in conversations about land values. It is also the number that is most frequently misapplied as a comparable. Per-acre price is meaningful only when you know the PI rating of the ground that produced it.
A $11,500 per acre sale on 130 PI ground in Macon County is a very different data point than an $11,500 per acre sale on 105 PI ground in the same county. The 130 PI ground at $11,500 per acre is selling at approximately $88 per PI point. The 105 PI ground at the same headline price is selling at $110 per PI point. Those two properties are priced very differently relative to their productivity, and using the headline number alone to benchmark either one creates a distorted picture of where the market is.
When you read September auction results, find the FSA records or the listing agent's documentation and pull the PI-weighted average for the tract before you use the sale as a comparable for your own ground. The Land Sales Bulletin and auction company result sheets typically publish acres and total price; the PI data often requires a call to the listing broker or a pull of the NRCS Web Soil Survey data for the specific parcel. That extra step is the difference between an informed comparable and a misleading one.
How a Landowner Thinking About 2027 Should Use September Results
A landowner who is considering selling in 2027 — next year's spring or fall auction season — should be tracking September 2026 results in their specific county and PI range as the current best indication of where the market will open their auction. Flat price expectations through December, combined with a cost environment that has tightened tenant margins and a rate environment that has raised the cost of farmland financing, suggest that 2027 auction results will be similar to 2026 unless commodity prices or interest rates move materially between now and then.
If September's results in your county and soil type are producing prices that work for your situation — whether that means covering an estate obligation, funding a retirement transition, or simply monetizing a property you have decided to exit — the argument for waiting for a higher market in 2027 is not well-supported by the current data. The ISPFMRA survey's 61 percent expecting flat prices through December does not suggest a material upward correction between now and your potential 2027 sale date.
If the September results are lower than you expected based on your own sense of what your ground is worth, check the PI data on the comparables before you conclude the market is undervaluing your ground. A well-tiled 135 PI tract with a strong local tenant and documented yield history will bid differently than the headline suggests it will based on county average results. The specific soil quality of your parcel, marketed to the right bidder pool with full documentation, is what produces your result — not what the county average showed last month.
The Auction vs. Private Listing Decision Before Year End
A landowner who has been watching September results and is now deciding whether to list for a fall auction or pursue a private sale before year end is making a timing and format decision simultaneously. Auction produces price discovery and a firm close date — a competitive auction for well-marketed ground in a county with active buyers typically produces a result at or above what a private negotiation would. A private listing to a known buyer — a neighbor, a family member, or a relationship buyer — can produce a faster and simpler transaction but requires both parties to agree on price without the market confirmation that an auction provides.
The September results give you a ground-level read on current buyer appetite in your county. If the results are showing competition — multiple bidders, prices at or above pre-auction estimates — the auction format is working for sellers right now. If the results are showing passed tracts and thin bidder pools, the market in that specific county may be better served by a private negotiation while buyer relationships are fresh, rather than an auction where limited competition produces a disappointing result.
Jared Williams is the Managing Broker and owner of Archer Realty & Auction LLC. He is a licensed Illinois auctioneer specializing in farmland auction and land sales across central and western Illinois. Start the conversation at archerrealty.net.
