Stories of land sales by Alberta’s large feedlots to appease the banks aren’t true, according to a southern Alberta realtor.
“It’s just stories,” said Dave Clarke of Maxwell Realty in Lethbridge.
Worried about the validity of the land selling rumours, Maxwell said he looked at all the listings in the Picture Butte area, the heart of feedlot country, for the past two and a half years to get the real story.
Clarke didn’t see a significant difference in the number of listings, the number of sales and the price of the land between May 1, 2002 and the present.
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However, while there isn’t a significant difference in the number of land sales, he said the BSE crisis is affecting the price of land.
“There is clear evidence there is pressure on the price of farm land.”
Maxwell said the offers that are made to retiring farmers are significantly lower than the asking prices. He said many sellers have chosen to wait another year before selling rather than accept a lower price.
“They don’t want to be the one in their community to sell cheaper and lead a trend downward.”
Because of the uncertainty in the cattle industry, some buyers are gambling the price will eventually start to drop, he added.
