This week Paul Neiffer has a conversation with Steve Bruere, president of Peoples Company.
Bruere grew up surrounded by agriculture on his family farm in Warren County, Iowa. Today he uses that expertise in agricultural real estate and farmland management.
“I always had a passion for real estate,” he says. “Growing up I wanted my family to buy any farm that would come up for sale, and we didn’t buy enough of them as far as I was concerned.”
While in college, Bruere bought his first piece of farmland (it was financed by his money earned selling sweet corn and pumpkins as a teenager). He also earned his real estate license. The day after his college graduation, he started selling real estate.
In 2003, Bruere became president of Peoples Company, which specializes in real estate brokerage, appraisals and farmland management. Today the company is licensed in 26 states for real estate brokerage and 30 states for real estate appraisals.
Listen to the podcast episode:
How does Bruere describe today’s farmland market? “Wild.”
“It’s probably the hottest real estate market I’ve been a part of in 18 years,” he says. “You’ve just got this perfect storm of high commodity prices, nice government payments and low interest rates.”
Farmland is definitely catching investors’ eyes, Bruere adds.
“During COVID, folks were stuck in their homes and worried about the food supply chain,” he says. “Now we have a newfound appreciation for what farmland means. The stock market got cut in half, while farmland just sits there steadily holding its value.”
As a result, demand from both farmers and investors is strong.
“Right now, we have farmers aggressively buying farmland again and this outside capital that appreciates the attributes of a farmland investment now more than ever,” he says. “This farmland markets incredibly dynamic.”
Listen to additional episodes of the Farm CPA Podcast:
Episode 7: Ken McCauley from Kansas
Episode 6: Dick Wittman and Cori Wittman Stitt from Idaho
Episode 5: Roric Paulman from Nebraska
Episode 4: Dave Nelson of Iowa
Episode 3: Jim Wiesemeyer, Pro Farmer
