Looking to buy up to 50 acres in Southern IL (for sale, real estate)

[John Steinhable]

I'm looking for cheap land that I can hang on to for awhile. Is there anybody out there even up in the burbs who thinks their land is worthless who wants to sell it?

[runninfiend]

The short answer would be NO. You won't find "cheap" land anywhere in "the burbs." Although, the burbs aren't southern Illinois so not sure why you mentioned it.

You will be hard pressed to find "cheap" land anywhere in the state, actually. 10-15 years ago you could have picked up woodlands for as little as $800-1,200 per acre or even less, because they weren't income producing. Those days are gone. These days, land is coveted for homesites and even more strongly for hunting potential.

It depends on what county you look in, but my bet is you will find basically nothing for less than $2,000-2,500 per acre, with much of it being higher than that. Timber land is typically $3,000 and up, with tillable land anywhere from $4,000 to upwards of $8,000+ depending on location, soil, etc.

Here's a great website to look for land: Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota land for sale hunting recreation trophy whitetail deer wild turkey

[PenguinSix]

You are a few years too late. With the demand for Ethanol and corn gobbling up all the available acreage, you've seen land prices shoot through the roof down in Central and Southern Illinois. About the only thing you can get cheap is woodlands, but they're few and far between.

[NancyMilton]

Hi, John. Maybe if you post back with what you consider "cheap" someone will have some more specific and helpful guidance for you. Does the topography of the land matter to you or are you just trying to park some investment money for a while? Also, have you zeroed in on a more specific location or are you open? Previous posters are correct about many of the prices they mentioned and beyond ethanol, it is investors with 1031 exchange money sitting on a lot of the land.

[brumm]

Hi there, I have 80 acres for sale in Southern IL, by Rend Lake. It is nice timber with some tillable and has city water on property. It can be sold as 20 acres or 60 or the whole 80. Contact me if interested....and its reasonable;;

[Swampmonster]

Originally Posted by brumm

Hi there, I have 80 acres for sale in Southern IL, by Rend Lake. It is nice timber with some tillable and has city water on property. It can be sold as 20 acres or 60 or the whole 80. Contact me if interested....and its reasonable;;

Nice area too.

[Dreickx]

You can find land for $2,000 acre but it's probably not the best. There is a major real estate website that is particularly useful in that regard.

If you're looking for cheap land, go for Missouri. In my opinion, Northern Missouri is both prettier than Illinois and a much better land deal. Illinois is overpopulated and everyone thinks of it when they think of the Corn Belt.

[greenwalt]

My family has 160 acres in Southern Illinois for sale... www.greenwaltbrothers.com to take a look.