51.8 Acre Jefferis Farm

The crowd for the March 27^th farmland auction conducted by SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES was lighter than expected, but bidding was strong and the final sale price exceeded seller expectations.

Keith Mitchell, executor for the Marjorie M. Jefferis Estate, said following the auction that he did not know what to expect.  He knew there were people interested in the farm from the surrounding area but did not expect the sale to finish as strongly as it did.  Mitchell stated “I’m pleasantly surprised by the results and with the superb way the marketing and auction process was handled by Sheridan & Associates.  I’m also happy that a farming family is buying the property and that it will remain as farmland for years to come.”

Malcolm and Marjorie Jefferis owned the property located at 3097 Powers Road, Jamestown, Ohio, for over fifty years, where they raised various farm animals and grain crops.  Malcolm Jefferis passed away in the late 1980’s, and Marjorie Jefferis remained at the farm for a few more years before moving.  Since that time, the farm has been rented and farmed by a young couple from the area.

Mr. Mitchell, a nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Jefferis, contacted Sheridan & Associates in the fall of 2011 to discuss the liquidation of the farm.  At that time, the farm was being sold to assist with the living expenses of Mrs. Jefferis.  While into the marketing process, Mrs. Jefferis became ill and passed away in mid-February 2012.

The farm is located one mile southeast of the Village of Bowersville, near the southeastern tip of Greene County, Ohio.  The farm is comprised of 51.8 total acres with 46 tillable acres, a home, pond and several outbuildings.  Matt Sheridan, the Auction Manager, stated after the sale, “Interest in farmland remains very strong, and we are receiving inquiries weekly about the availability of area farmland.  The entire crowd today was made up of interested bidders.  From our marketing efforts and communication with prospective buyers, we knew the property was drawing interest from local and regional farmers and investors.  We are very pleased with the auction results and are happy that a nearby farming family is the buyer.”

With a crowd of approximately 30 people, the bidding started quickly and reached $300,000 within the first few bids.  Bidding activity continued and eventually ended when a northern Clinton County farmer made the final bid of $323,000.  The farm is scheduled to close on or before April 30, 2012.

For more information on this and other farm, residential,  and commercial real estate and personal property sales, visit SheridanTeam.com.  For sale prices and other information on past farmland sales conducted by Sheridan & Associates, visit our company’s sales history at Sheridan & Associates Farmland Sales History (site). 

Sheridan & Associates is a full service real estate, auction and appraisal company specializing in the sale of agricultural, recreational, residential and commercial real estate and personal property throughout Ohio.  According to the Dayton Area Board of Realtors, Sheridan & Associates sells more land in the Greater Dayton and Springfield region than any other real estate office.  To sign up for Sheridan & Associates’ mailing list, Click Here. 

Article submitted by Matt Sheridan, Partner with Sheridan & Associates.  Matt is involved in all aspects of the business and specifically works in the company’s real estate sales and appraisal businesses.

“From an attendance standpoint, this was one of largest antique or household auctions we have conducted in some time,” said lead auctioneer Bart Sheridan.  With many new faces attending the Veterans Day auction, prices reached high levels throughout the day.

Leading the way in sales was a rare 1920s Walt Disney Mickey Mouse Lunch Kit found in a consignor’s garage cabinet.  Auction Manager Bryan Bogan met with the seller to inspect some of what the consignor considered her better items.  “Before I left her house, the client told me that she had some other items in the garage that she also wanted to liquidate, but she didn’t think that there was much value there.  I think she was pretty excited to find out how wrong she was.”  After spirited bidding from four bidders, the lot sold to a floor bidder for $1,600 (all prices include no buyer’s premium).

Also topping the charts was a 2009 Buick Lucerne CXL automobile from a local estate.  The deceased had purchased the car new and driven it only 21,300 miles.  With an opening bid of $10,000, the bidding quickly reached $20,000 before finally settling at $21,900.  “This car appeared to be in excellent condition and the Carfax® report supported that assessment,” said Sheridan.  “We sell some quality automobiles at auction every year, but I don’t remember one recently that has been in any better condition and that has sold any better.”

One auction ring was dedicated to the sale of over 1,000 die cast and plastic model cars.  Bidding was spirited with prices for the 1940s-1970s classic die cast models generally reaching $25 to $75 and with some plastic models achieving prices of $50 and more.  “While certainly below retail prices, we were very pleased with the prices we achieved for such a large collection,” Bogan said.  SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES will offer the remainder of the plastic model kits from this estate at the November 30 auction, also to be held at the Greene County Fairgrounds.

Other notable sellers included:

• Like-new 2006 Suzuki Katana motorcycle w/only 80 miles                             $3,100
• 1987 Escape from the Lost World pinball machine                                                750
• Savage Model 101 .22 cal revolver in original box                                                 275
• Like-new Toro Max 826LE snow blower                                                                   750
• Lyon & Healy Co. floor model harp                                                                            550
• 1908 Ohio porcelain license plate                                                                             380
• 1909 Ohio porcelain license plate                                                                             300
• 1874 Greene County, OH, Atlas                                                                                 370
• Fern pattern art glass lamp                                                                                          375

Click here to view the complete auction listing and photos.

Contact SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES for further information about prices from this auction or about auction services that will fit your needs.

During the summer of 2011, the Skillings family commissioned SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES to sell their 70-acre farm located five miles southeast of Springfield, Ohio.  The property was owned by Mary Skillings, wife of the late Earl Skillings, a well-known and respected financier and land owner in Clark County, along with two daughters and three grandchildren of Mrs. Skillings.  At the time the auction was scheduled, most of the fall harvest was expected to be completed by the auction date.

The auction was held on November 2, 2011 at the Champions Center in Springfield Ohio, on an unseasonably warm day when many area farmers were in the fields desperately catching up with a harvest delayed both by a wet spring and wet fall.   Turnout at the auction met expectations, with auction attendees comprised mostly of local and regional farmers and investors.  From the start, bidding was fast and furious with five on-site bidders and one phone bidder.  Bidding started at $300,000 and surpassed $425,000 within minutes.  In the end, three active bidders competed for the final prize, a selling price of $452,000.

This and numerous recent sales conducted by SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES confirms that farmland values remain strong.  Prices in southwestern Ohio in 2011 have varied from $5,000 per acre to nearly $8,000 per acre, with productive soils, square corners, and highly tillable land demanding top dollar from buyers.  During 2010 and 2011, there has been a noticeable difference in sale prices for flat, square, and productive farms versus irregularly shaped or poorly accessible farms.  The Skillings farm is rectangularly shaped and completely tillable, which added to the interest from prospective bidders.  The only concern from prospective bidders leading up to the Skillings farm auction was that the farm was wet, with very little existing tiling.  Since this is a correctable issue, with access to neighboring tiling mains, bidding was not affected.

SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES is a leader in the sale of farm and recreational land throughout Ohio.  Stay tuned to more upcoming farm land auctions conducted by SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES.  Coming up on November 17^th, the company will be offering the 108-acre Gard Farm located at 6415 Upper Valley Pike just north of Springfield in northern Clark County, Ohio.  This farm will be sold in four tracts and features a nice 2-story brick home and a mixture of tillable, pasture, and wooded land.  Visit the Gard Farm web page for details on this upcoming auction and visit SheridanTeam.com for full details on all SHERIDAN & ASSOCIATES upcoming real estate and personal property auctions and area real estate listings.  Also, visit the Sheridan Team News page for more information on other relevant real estate and auction news.

Highlighting the auction was a rare 1936 Gabel Starlite jukebox.  Research revealed that the machine was manufactured in the first year that Gabel offered lighted columns.  While it was not in playing condition, the veneer and other exterior finishes were all original and in good condition.  After a short introduction by Auctioneer Bart Sheridan and comments from Auction Manager Bryan Bogan, the bidding began at $2,000.  The competition ended up being between a floor bidder and an absentee bidder who dropped out with a final bid of $5,500.  The floor bidder eventually won the jukebox with her final bid of $6,000 (no buyer’s premium charged).  (View video of auction at Gabel Jukebox video.)

The next item for sale was a magnificent Stafford Nickelodeon with leaded glass & winged griffin supports.  The instrument included functional piano, drum, accordion, and tambourine.  Provenance was sketchy, but a local collector and dealer had owned the piece for a number of years, using it as a complement to his shop motif.  The crystal clear sound from the item wowed the crowd from the insertion of the first quarter during the auction preview through the time of the item’s sale.  Bidding started at $500 with the final bid topping out at $1,600 (no buyer’s premium charged).  View video of auction at Nickelodian auction video.)

On February 23 the Sheridan Team offered the 175-acre Sweeney farm located on State Route 72 just north of Cedarville.  The farm had been under the Sweeney family’s ownership since 1967 when Fred and Betty Sweeney sold their Western Greene County farm to a golf course developer and moved their dairy and grain operation to the Miami and Cedarville Township farm.  Mr. Sweeney operated the farm alongside his son Fred III until 1983 when Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney retired from the operation and moved to the nearby county seat of Xenia.

Moving from their nearby rented home near Jamestown, Fred III and his wife and children took up residence in the two-story home where Fred managed the farming operation by himself until deciding to retire after harvesting the 2010 crop.  At the dairy’s peak of operation, the family milked as many as fifty Holsteins.  The Sweeney dairy operation followed the trend of the 1980s and 1990s as Fred III sold the cows in 1992 and focused primarily on his grain operation while continuing to raise beef cattle.

Following the 2010 harvest, Sweeney decided to retire from farming.  He commissioned the Sheridan Team to liquidate his complete line of equipment at a January 28 auction that drew over three hundred individual bidders from five states and nearly 700 total attendees.  With the line of well-maintained equipment and supplies sold, the sale of the farm was the final step in the family’s plan.

With approximately one hundred attendees, the February 23 auction attracted attention from as far away as New Jersey, with both investors and farmers seeking information about the property.  The family was intent on offering the property for sale as one tract.  One interested party remarked that he had passed the farm regularly over the past several decades and had always admired the way the Sweeneys had maintained the farm and how the family had farmed using solid conventional tillage practices.

The farm featured 175 acres, with approximately sixteen acres dedicated to the home/building site and pasture areas and the 159 remaining acres tillable.  A unique feature for the auction was the treatment of a thirty-nine-acre field that Sweeney had sowed in winter wheat and contracted for July 2011 delivery to a local elevator.  Prior to his decision to retire, he had contracted 1,800 bushels at $6.68 per bushel.  According to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, the new owner is to receive one-half of the crop’s total net profit and possession of that field immediately following the harvest.

The afternoon auction was convened at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia.  Following the initial bid of $700,000, six bidders helped push the final bid to $1,330,000 ($7,600 per acre), with no buyer’s premium charged.

We continue to see a very high demand for farmland throughout the region, with better soils regularly commanding over $6,000 and $7,000 per acre.  Stay tuned as the Sheridan Team plans to offer the 164-acre Jones farm located on US 68 just south of Xenia on March 16 at the Greene County Fairgrounds.  Visit our dedicated Jones Farmland Auction page for further information on this good Southern Greene County farm.  Also, visit our Sheridan Team News page for more information on other relevant news related to real estate and auctions.

 Fred moved with his parents from Beavercreek, Ohio, in 1967 when the family sold their farm and began their dairy milking and crop operation just north of Cedarville.  The 175-acre Cedarville farm had been owned and operated for decades by the Corry family.  Fred II and his wife Betty lived in the home place until retiring from farming in the early 1980s.  Fred III moved his family from a rented home near Jamestown and continued the farming operations, milking up to fifty cows at one point.  In the early 1990s Fred III discontinued the milking operation and raised beef cattle and row crops.

 Fred called us in November 2010 to discuss his auction plans.  He had decided weeks before that he would retire.  We set the date for January 28 and began making plans.

 The auction opened with a two-sided metal Highview Farms sign that had graced the farm’s front entrance during the years of the Corry family.  The black on white sign advertised “Yorkshires, Larger Litters, Less Lard” and identified “Corry and Son, Cedarville, Ohio” as the farm owner.  The final bid for this unique local collectible and one-of-a-kind sign hammered at $850.  Three iron kettles with accompanying spiders quickly followed at $280 each, the purchaser taking all three with his choice bid.  Antique stoneware, tools, and small farm items set a strong tone through the first two hours of the auction.

 The equipment portion of the auction began just after noon with the sale of Sweeney’s John Deere 4420 combine drive unit ($8,700) followed by the accompanying JD 213 grain table ($1,900) and JD 444 corn head ($1,850).  Strong tractor prices followed with a JD 4440 tractor in good shape ($19,800), JD 4020 tractor ($10,800), JD 2350 tractor ($9,300), and JD 530 tractor ($7,500).

 Other strong sellers included a 1982 Feather-Lite 14’ gooseneck livestock trailer ($4,400), Glenco wing-tip disk ($4,200), Bush Hog wing-tip disk ($4,000), 1998 Claas 46 round baler with net wrap ($7,800), Hutchison 8” x 62’ auger ($5,000), and JD 7000 4-row plateless planter ($2,150).

 Sheridan & Associates will also be selling the 175-acre Sweeney farm on February 23.  View our web presentation at Sweeney Farm Auction (February 23, 2011).

 January 22 came crisp and clear at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia.  With fourteen consigners, the auction drew over 260 bidders to the Assembly Hall and featured a great selection of quality antique furniture, advertising signs and boxes, primitives, and marbles.   

 Bucking recent trends, furniture was a strong seller.  Top producers included a fine walnut 24-pane 2-piece Dutch cupboard with spoon notched shelves ($3,000); early mahogany grandfather clock with brass works ($950); walnut plantation desk ($675); and 8’ walnut 2-drawer harvest table ($1,350).

 Advertising continues to draw strong prices throughout the region.  Of the seventy-plus lots sold, top sellers included a Munyon’s Homeopathic Home Remedies display ($500); sand painted New Home Sewing Machine sign ($725); and Sohio Motor Oil sign ($385).

 Other items of note included a finely carved bone cane ($650); two-sided Kentucky indentured servant agreement dated 1821 ($350); Majolica beehive planter ($400); and 1902 Fox Hunt oil painting ($635).   An assortment of glassware and china continued to demonstrate that 2011 could be another tough year in this area.

 With a strong lineup of auctions throughout February and into March and April, 2011 is shaping up to be a strong year.  Contact us to discuss your auction needs and let us help you determine how the Sheridan Team can help you maximize the value of your treasures.

Conley Brothers Excavating Company

On October 27, we traveled to Pitchin, Ohio, just southeast of Springfield, to liquidate the commercial excavating and concrete equipment for the Conley Brothers Excavating Company.  With nearly 100 bidders and over 200 people in attendance, the high sellers included:

• Caterpillar 416 turbo loader backhoe ($9,250)
• Komatsu D37E dozer ($8,250)
• Komatsu D65E dozer ($8,000)
• 1988 Trail King 35-ton detachable gooseneck lo-boy equipment trailer ($8,000)

Also selling was a 1999 Harley Davidson Dyna Wide Glide motorcycle with Stage 4 engine for $7,500.

Greene County Career Center

On October 28, we teamed with Thompson Auctioneers of Fairborn, Ohio, to liquidate the metal tooling shop equipment of the Greene County Career Center.  The Career Center recently closed its metal shop program due to decreasing enrollment.  We were first contacted to appraise the equipment so the school could offer the items for sale using a modified sealed bid marketing method.  After receiving permission to present an Auction Marketing Proposal to the school’s treasurer and Superintendant, Sheridan and Thompson presented a proposal that convinced the school to liquidate the items using the public auction method.

With a large bidding crowd, the final results of the auction tallied just over $203,000, against a pre-sale estimate of nearly $130,000.  The top sellers of the evening auction were:

• 2000 Haas Model VF-O CNC Vertical Machining Center ($28,000)
• 2000 Milltronics Model ML-15 Series E CNC Tool Room Lathe ($12,250)
• SWI/Prototrak Model 1745P CNC Tool Room Lathe ($11,250)
• 2000 Milltronics Model MB-18M CNC Bed Mill ($11,500)

Commercial auctions continue to attract a high volume of interested bidders and strong prices.  We invite you to contact Sheridan & Associates to discuss how we might be of service to you.

Sunday evening, the former Xenians, the young medical missionaries from half way around the world, were at the Student Union at Wright State University for “An Evening in Swaziland.” They were there with their four young sons to report on work they’re doing in the South African nation and to engage the help of others financially and as volunteers.

See the full story and how Sheridan & Associates as able to help at http://www.xeniagazette.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=170380&SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&S=1.

As always, please contact us at Sheridan & Associates if you have any questions about the market or how it affects you and your property.  We look forward to hearing from you.

The SHERIDAN TEAM

September Home Sales Slip From Last Month; Year-To-Date Remains Ahead

Home sales activity in the Dayton area, as reported by the Dayton Area Board of REALTORS® Multiple Listing Service, was down for the third straight month in year-to-year comparisons.  The 773 single-family transactions for the month of September were a decline of 79 units (9.27%) compared to last month’s 852, and a 21% drop from the 983 sales reported in September 2009.

Sales volume for the month reached over $92.5 million, which generated an average sale price of $119,639 and a median sale price of $95,750. These figures were down compared to the same month last year by 6.3% and 14.8%, respectively.

The news, however, remains very positive for the year-to-date picture. Single-family sales through September now total 7,949, still up over last year’s 7,939 at the end of the third quarter.  Sales volume is nearing the billion dollar mark as it reached $990.6 million at the end of September, and is still up 1.5% compared to the same period in 2009.

Average sale price and median sale price year-to-date also remain up compared to last year. The average through September stood at $124,621 and the median at 107,000, up 1.44% and 2% respectively from 2009.
Single-family listings submitted in September totaled 1,778, down 9.1% from last September’s 1,957. The pace of listings added thru the first three quarters this year, however, also remained up compared to 2009, as 18,738 listings represented 6% more than the 17,662 entered by the end of September 2009.

The overall available single-family inventory declined from 9,125 in August to 8,814 at the end of September, which is a typical seasonal decline at the end of the summer. Inventory remains up, however, for the fifth consecutive month compared to last year at the same time.

This year’s supply based on September’s sales pace stands at 11.4-months. This is up from August’s 10.7-month supply. Last year’s comparable inventory at the same time stood at 8,501 and the supply showed only an 8.6-month’s supply of listings when homes were selling at a faster pace.

Statistics compiled by John Junker, MLS Data Specialist

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