The cost of Australian farmland has more than doubled during the past 10 years, Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences data shows.
The average price per hectare of broadacre farmland increased by 131 per cent during the past 10 years, according to the ABARES’ farmland price indicator.
ABARES boss Jared Greenville said while farmland prices were relatively flat in 2023, they capped a decade of strong growth.
“Over the 10 years to 2023, broadacre farmland prices went from $4088 to $9429 per hectare,” Dr Greenville said.
“Australian broadacre farmland values reached $9576 per hectare in 2022 but declined slightly by 1.5 per cent on average through 2023."
Prices had grown at an average annual rate of more than 10 per cent across most of the past decade until 2023, when prices fell slightly.
The price growth differed depending on which production zone the land fell in, with high rainfall zones experiencing the fastest growth, followed closely by the wheat/sheep zone and the pastoral zone behind that.
Victoria's Wimmera region experienced the highest annual growth rate in the past 10 years at 18.42 per cent, followed closely by Queensland's west and south-west, which recorded 18.05 per cent growth.
Queensland's Darling Downs and Central Highlands recorded the third-highest annual growth rate of 15.97 per cent.
But while prices were up, the number of sales was down, according to the data.
The volume of broadacre transactions has decreased on average 6.5 per cent a year in the past 10 years.
The Farmland Price Indicator provides insight into broadacre farmland prices, to ensure farming businesses can make educated decisions on their farmland assets.
The latest farmland price estimates can be accessed by anyone through ABARES’ Farmland Price Indicator online tool.
For more information, visit: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/data/farmland-price-indicator