Pottawattamie County Iowa Farmland Market — 2025 Year in Review

Pottawattamie County's 2025 farmland market produced a headline number that demands context: a -30.6% decline in average $/acre from $17,456 in 2024 to $12,111 in 2025. That dramatic swing is less a sign of market distress than a reflection of the unusual composition of 2024's transaction pool, which included a disproportionate share of high-value urban-fringe and development-potential parcels near Council Bluffs and the Omaha metro. The 2025 data, with 48 sales and a median of $11,682 per acre, more accurately represents the county's typical agricultural land market. Viewed against the longer trend, the 2025 average sits comfortably above 2023's $11,901 and well above the pre-run 2021 level of $6,513 per acre.

Pottawattamie is Iowa's fourth-largest county by area and encompasses a wide range of land types — from highly productive loess-soil cropland in the north and east to urban-fringe and recreational ground near Council Bluffs in the west. This diversity means that county-wide averages can shift significantly based on which types of parcels transact in a given year. The 2025 data reflects a more typical mix, with the median of $11,682 closely tracking the mean and suggesting a relatively uniform distribution of sale prices across the county's agricultural core.

Year-by-Year Price Summary

2025 Market Analysis

The 48 sales recorded in Pottawattamie County during 2025 span a wide price range of $5,277 to $25,625 per acre, reflecting the county's geographic and quality diversity. The CSR2 tier breakdown shows an interesting pattern: fair-ground sales (CSR2 below 55) averaged $14,895 per acre — higher than both prime and good ground — which reflects the influence of Council Bluffs-area parcels where location and development potential override soil productivity in determining value. Prime ground (CSR2 75+) averaged $12,371 across 16 sales, while good ground (CSR2 55–74) averaged $11,309 across 26 sales.

The top transactions of 2025 highlight the county's dual nature. A 24.39-acre Lake township parcel sold for $25,625 per acre in January — a price that reflects proximity to the Omaha metro and recreational amenities rather than agricultural productivity, as its CSR2 of 28.6 confirms. The Garner township sales, averaging above $18,000 per acre across three transactions, similarly reflect location-driven premiums. The county's agricultural core, by contrast, traded in a more typical $9,000–$13,000 range consistent with Southwest Iowa market norms.

CSR2 Tier Breakdown — 2025

Top Transactions — 2025

Township Analysis

Council Bluffs, Lake, and Garner townships led the county in average $/acre for 2025, driven by their proximity to the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area and the associated non-agricultural demand for land. These townships consistently produce the county's highest $/acre transactions and should be evaluated separately from the agricultural core when benchmarking farmland values. The county's eastern and northern townships — where the land base is more uniformly agricultural — traded in a range more consistent with Southwest Iowa district norms.

Market Outlook

Pottawattamie County's 2025 market normalization, while dramatic in percentage terms, reflects a return to a more typical transaction mix rather than a fundamental shift in agricultural land values. The county's agricultural core appears well-supported in the $10,000–$13,000 per acre range, while urban-fringe and recreational parcels will continue to trade at significant premiums driven by Omaha metro demand. Buyers and appraisers should be cautious about using county-wide averages for valuation purposes given the wide range of land types and motivations in Pottawattamie's market.