Opportunity Is Knocking

It’s a good time to buy if you’re in the market for a high-horsepower tractor.

- Eric Hodson

If trends from late 2025 continue into this year, 2026 may present good opportunities to buy quality low-hour, high-horsepower tractors.

Risk vs. Reward

High-horsepower tractor prices are dropping at dealerships and auctions. Some models are lingering on dealer lots, while the large track tractors were harder to find on the auction block in 2025 compared with 2024. Andy Campbell, director of insights for Tractor Zoom, said year-over-year average data for 425-plus-hp tractors with 500–3,000 hours shows the retail market retracted 3.2% from 2024 and the auction market fell 6.7% in the same period.

“The market has obviously softened, but the fact [that] the auction market is dropping faster and further than the retail market is an indication there are still low-hour machines that haven’t moved from the dealer lots, which is holding that average retail value higher,” he said.

This presents opportunities to buy a discounted 4-wheel-drive (4WD) tractor at a dealer this year. “There are more aged machines sitting on lots that need to move in the next few months, and every dealer I’m working with is very interested in working with a farmer on a creative financing deal to help move those slightly older machines,” Campbell said. “As far as risks go, you need to understand your operation’s cash flow. Don’t buy something if you won’t have the money for the payments if this down market continues for a few years.”

Campbell noted a sharper drop in values on tire 4WDs than on 4-track tractors in 2025, with about 10% of value coming off wheeled 4WDs. Track tractors are down only 3–5% from 2024.