News Farmland
Building land no longer for sale under 100,000 euros
The average agricultural land price in the Netherlands rose by 8,8% in the last quarter of 2024, according to new figures from the Land Registry. This is in line with the increase over the whole of last year. The prices of arable land are now well above €100.000. The price for grassland rose sharply, but is still a third lower. In Groningen, South Holland and Zeeland, considerably more had to be paid for land.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average agricultural land price will be €91.300 per hectare. That is an increase of €6.000. Over the whole of last year, the land price was €85.300 per hectare. An increase of 8,3% compared to 2023. With almost 11.700 hectares, a relatively large amount of land was traded in the last three months of 2024; a good 15% more than in the third quarter. In any case, last year was a good year for the land market with 15% more land traded compared to 2023. Good for 31.500 hectares.
Distribution of arable and grassland
The prices of arable land are increasingly diverging. In the last quarter of 2024, the average price of arable land was €105.600 per hectare and that of grassland €79.300. Land for silage maize is €88.300. The price of arable land dipped at the beginning of 2024, but then rose sharply for three quarters to a record high. Grassland showed a further decline in the third quarter, but this has also been more than corrected with a 9,4% higher price.
For the whole of last year, the average price of arable land now stands at €99.600 per hectare and that of grassland at €76.000. This means that land prices rose by 9,6% and 9,5% in one year.
The averages do not do justice to the enormous differences between provinces. For example, you pay €61.700 for a hectare of land in Friesland, while in neighbouring Flevoland you have to spend no less than €186.800 for the same 10.000 square metres. Both provinces have an exceptional position in the market. The entire eastern part of the Netherlands fluctuates between €75.000 and €79.000. North Holland, Utrecht and Limburg are one step above that and South Holland, Zeeland and North Brabant are another step above.
Zeeland soil rises fastest
Last quarter, the Frisian land price even fell very slightly, while in Groningen it rose by 5,3%. The largest percentage increase is Zeeland, with a 9,3% increase in price. In North Holland it was 7,5% and in South Holland 6,6%. In the other provinces very slight increases were visible. It is perhaps striking that the land mobility is highest in Limburg, while in Groningen it is lowest. On an annual basis, 2,31% and 1,29% of the total agricultural land area is traded in these provinces.
Over the whole of 2024, land mobility amounted to 1,75%. The figures per province show that a very high land price does not necessarily lead to lower mobility.
Niels van der Boom
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