First Class, Studebaker Rise and Time to Play are among the offerings on CLHbid.com.
While they sound like they might be names of racehorses, they are in fact farms and ranches for sale on the electronic, escalating tender site. The catchy names are designed to appeal to just the right buyers.
CLHbid.com is an Alberta-based law firm that has been selling farm and ranch land since 2016.
“We’re not auctioneers and we’re not realtors,” said Tyler Ruttan, director of sales. “We’re a team of professionals.”
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That team includes lawyers, accountants, marketers, and yes, people with auction and agricultural backgrounds.
Ruttan said they provide different options for sellers and buyers. One of the main differences would be the ability to bid on separate parcels within a listing instead of having to buy the entire package.
A recent news release noted the Sept. 28 sale of First Class, a package of 2,290 acres in a contiguous block near Indian Head, Sask. It described First Class as a premium assemblage that will be a highlight in the 2023 farm market.
The land is available in 12 parcels or en bloc, and information indicates crop histories for the last three years is available.
“When you list 2,300 acres, there’s less people that can buy it all,” Ruttan said. “We give the ability to buy some different parcels of the farm. It still gets all sold on the same day but the ability for neighbours to participate, whether they maybe want to buy two, three, four, five quarters of land but they don’t want to buy it all, they can still participate.”
This means neighbours who want to add a couple of quarters can do so, or someone who wants the entire farm can place the highest tenders for all parcels.
First Class, for example, includes a parcel with grain storage while another includes a home.
Ruttan said it’s important to local communities that local people have a chance to buy at least some of the land and it’s a way to support the family farm.
Each parcel is listed with a starting bid — in the case of First Class ranging from $400,000 to $980,000, and the sale takes place online over two hours.
“We don’t send land down the chute no matter what,” said Ruttan. “There is a starting bid system. We use price discovery very similar to an auction but we’re an escalating tender. We don’t believe that you have to start the land at zero, especially something like First Class.”
He said it’s difficult to correctly price a commodity like farm land. It depends on the economic climate in a particular area.
CLHbid.com entered the land business because list price wasn’t working, he said. Home buyers might put an offer on a city home, not get that particular house and be able to find virtually the same thing a street or two over. That doesn’t work for farm land.
“But when you let the buyers all have an equal opportunity on an ethical platform, they will compete and they’ll take the land to what it’s worth. Every day is sort of a new day when it comes to those sorts of price discoveries.”
If a starting bid is not obtained, a parcel does not sell.
According to CLHbid.com, the starting bid is “set at what is perceived as a discounted amount from what the current fair market value of the parcel has recently been valued at and what the parcel is likely to sell for on auction day.”
The process is confidential, with the name of the eventual buyer only revealed to the seller when it comes to closing the transaction. CLHbid.com receives a fee based on the purchase price.
Ruttan said the company is licensed to sell in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Buying and selling farm land is its sole business.
