Bendigo Bank confirms Gippsland has the most valuable dairy real estate

Gippsland landholders enjoy the gold standard for dairy property prices, new figures show. Here’s the average hectare price in your region.

Gippsland has the most valuable dairy real estate in the country, with new research confirming an average higher than $20,000 per hectare.

The new Bendigo Bank analysis revealed the average per hectare price in Gippsland at a $20,881 gold standard in the 2023-24 financial year, followed by Western Victoria at $18,599 per hectare and Tasmania at $16,565 per hectare.

Commissioned by Dairy Australia and released this week, the report also revealed Western Australian dairy real estate prices enjoyed the biggest jump, rising 23.9 per cent between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years.

The Murray dairy region, which encompasses both the southern Riverina and Goulburn Valley districts, also posted a healthy 14.6 per cent rise over the same period to sit at $12,752 per hectare.

Shepparton region dairy farmer Geoff Akers said the Murray region’s 14.6 per cent price rise was indirectly attributable to the strength on the cropping sector.

“It’s no secret the dairy industry has had a challenging 12 to 18 months, so the real estate benchmark would be a flow-on from the cropping sector,” Tallygaroopna farmer said.

“There’s always room for expansion in cropping and there’s been plenty of examples of a neighbouring dairy farm being acquired by a cropping operation.

“Some parts of the northern region had withstood the drought better than other parts of Victoria and Australia generally, with some rain falling just over the weekend.”

According to the nationwide property analysis, the cheapest dairy real estate in the 2023-24 financial year was located in the subtropical region, with an average of $10,634 per hectare in the area that straddles northern NSW and southern Queensland.

Dairy Australia industry analyst Eliza Redfern said the data confirmed a nationwide average of$12,906 per hectare, which calculated to a 10.1 per cent rise across Australia between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years.

“Commodity prices, interest rates and seasonal conditions all play a role in the value of dairy property, like any farmland,” she said.

“The research found that while the median price hit a record high in 2023-24, growth has now returned closer to longer-term averages.”