Georgia farmland sells to one buyer for $23,128,500 in Schrader auction

One of Georgia's biggest land auctions in years ended with a single investor purchasing all 6,900 acres in Sumter County Thursday.

"There's no question in my mind that the strength we've seen in the market for farmland is expanding beyond the Midwest and the Northern Plains," said R.D. Schrader, president of Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, which managed the auction of land near Lake Blackshear.

"A lot of farmland investors have been focused on the Midwest, but I think we found today that quality agricultural properties in the Southeast offer significant values," said Schrader. "This was a lot of land to sell in a single day in this part of the country, but we felt that the market would respond, and that turned out to be the case. I definitely think other land owners and farmers who have been contemplating the sale of land in the area will take note of this."

The land was offered in 16 tracts, and the two-hour auction developed into a battle between bidders seeking various combinations of tracts and those bidding on the entire property. "We had participation by a wide range of bidders - large and small investors as well as operating farmers from the immediate area," said Schrader.

In addition to irrigated farmland, the auction featured approximately 2,300 acres of timber and recreational land.

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