Farmland prices in south and west Gippsland reached a record high of $31,000 per hectare in a review of 2023 farm land values.
The figure is higher than any other rural Victorian region.
The numbers come from the 2024 Rural Bank Australian Farmland Values Report, which records that Australian farmland values have now recorded a full decade of unbroken growth.
The Gippsland figure was 22 per cent higher than the previous year, which also followed a similar increase from 2021.
Following broader trends throughout the farmland markets, transaction numbers were down 29 per cent.
Total transaction volume in 2023 was 98, which is the lowest on record for the region and makes this the third consecutive year of declining sales volumes.
The Rural Bank report notes the growth in median price per hectare can be attributed to a significant increase in total proportion of sales in the higher ranges.
Despite a decline in transaction volumes across all price ranges aside from the smallest range, the total proportion of higher priced transactions increased from 52 per cent to 65 per cent.
“The key drivers of farmland values look set to remain in a holding pattern in 2024,” Rural Bank head of agribusiness development Andrew Smith said.
“It is increasingly likely that the market will now see a plateau in farmland values.”
The report shows the past 10 years have seen the national median price for Australian farmland triple, rising by 201 per cent at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6 per cent. This rate of growth is well ahead of the longer-term 20-year CAGR of 8.4 per cent.
“While rural property remained very much in demand, record low supply helped push farmland values to new record highs in 2023 with many regions experiencing exceptional growth in values, particularly in Western Australia,” Mr Smith said.
Western Australia has become the national leader in farmland value growth. Median price growth of 32.6 per cent in 2023 has helped the state boast a five-year CAGR of 25.6 per cent, followed by Victoria with a CAGR of 17.2 per cent.