Median price of Australian farmland values increases by 13.5 per cent

The median price of Australian farmland has increased for the sixth year in a row, a new report has found. See the median price per hectare overall and for each state, and which regions saw the biggest increases.

The median price of Australian farmland increased by 13.5 per cent last year, the sixth consecutive year Australian farmland values have grown.

THE median price of Australian farmland increased by 13.5 per cent last year, according to a major report released by Rural Bank today.

It is the sixth consecutive year Australian farmland values have grown.

Rural Bank chief executive Alexandra Gartmann said the report showed the remarkable consistency farmland offered as an asset class — particularly if people looked beyond short-term volatility and seasonal vagaries.

“We saw another year of value growth in 2019 across almost every state and territory,

demonstrating not only the underlying strength of agriculture’s base asset in farmland, but of

the sector overall,” Ms Gartmann said.

“While land values change from year to year, Australian farmland has delivered an average

compound annual growth of 7.5 per cent over the past 20 years”.

The report found the following for each state:

VICTORIA

• The median price per hectare in Victoria increased by 12.1 per cent in 2019, resulting in the

fourth year of consecutive growth

• The area of farmland traded across Victoria in 2019 was approximately 166,215 hectares, a

decrease of 16.2 per cent compared to 2018

• The total value of Victorian farmland traded in 2019 was approximately $1.05 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 4.2 per cent compared to 2018

• North West Victoria saw the largest year-on-year increase in median price per hectare up by

31.9 per cent. In contrast, Gippsland saw a decrease of 5.9 per cent

NEW SOUTH WALES

•The median price per hectare in NSW increased by 17.2 per cent in 2019, the

sixth consecutive year of growth

• The area of farmland traded in 2019 across the state was approximately 1.35 million hectares, a decrease of 14.5 per cent compared to 2018

• The total value of NSW farmland traded in 2018 was approximately $3.1 billion, a

decrease of 9.5 per cent compared to 2018

• Northern NSW was the top performing region in 2019, reporting a growth of 23.7

per cent in median price per hectare

QUEENSLAND

•The median price per hectare in Queensland decreased by 0.8 per cent in 2019

• The area of farmland traded across Queensland in 2019 was approximately 4.1 million

hectares, a decrease of 5.9 per cent compared to 2018

• The total value of Queensland farmland traded in 2019 was approximately $2.5 billion, an

increase of 2.9 per cent compared to 2018

• South Queensland was the top performing region in 2019, reporting a growth of 14.5 per cent in median price per hectare. In contrast, West and Central regions decreased by 11.7 and 9.9 per cent respectively

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

• The median price per hectare in South Australia increased by 18.4 per cent in 2019, which

contributed to a 67.7 per cent increase over the last four years

• An estimated 218,610 hectares of farmland was traded in 2019, 20.5 per cent less than 2018.

• The number of transactions declined by 8.3 per cent in 2019 to 693. Despite this, the number of transactions remains 1.9 per cent above the average of the last 10 years

• The total value of farmland traded in South Australia in 2019 was $756.8 million, a decrease of 2.1 per cent from 2018

• The South East region recorded the strongest growth with the median price increasing by 23.4 per cent. The Yorke and North region recovered from a decline in 2018 to record a 21.5 per cent increase

TASMANIA

• The median price per hectare of farmland in Tasmania increased by 11.1 per cent in 2019,

after a decline of five per cent in 2018

• An estimated 29,004 hectares of farmland was traded in 2019, a decrease of 4.3 per cent

compared to 2018

• The total value of farmland traded in 2019 was $224.7 million, an increase of 1.5 per cent

compared to 2018

• The Northern region experienced the largest increase in median price per hectare, recording a 26.1 per cent increase compared to 2019

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

• The median price per hectare in Western Australia increased by 28.2 per cent in 2019,

following an increase of 3.8 per cent in 2018

• The estimated number of farmland transactions decreased in 2019 by 4.6 per cent to 701

which is almost 20 per cent below the 20-year average

• The area of Western Australian farmland traded in 2019 was approximately 536,000 hectares, an increase of 2.7 per cent compared to 2018

• The total value of farmland traded in 2019 was approximately $1.02 billion, an increase of 10.5 per cent

• The south coast region recorded the largest growth of 57.5 per cent in the median price per

hectare, while the Northern region fell 8.6 per cent when compared to 2018

NORTHERN TERRITORY

• The median price per hectare of farmland in the Northern Territory declined by 53.9 per cent in 2019. This followed an increase of 135.5 per cent in 2018

• In 2019, cattle regions accounted for 33 per cent of transactions in the Northern Territory, up

from 17 per cent in 2018

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