News
Land values heading in opposite directions, East versus West
NEWS HIGHLIGHT
Land values heading in opposite directions,
East versus West
In a 'Tale of Two Regions', land values are heading in opposite directions as a result of the growing economic downturn. In Ontario, land values are reported to be on the decline while those in Saskatchewan are increasing.
October 28, 2008 By Regina Leader Post/Canadian Press
October 28, 2008
Toronto, ON –Ontario farmland values have jumped substantially during the last six months.
Farm Credit Canada's fall 2008 farmland values report says farmland was appraised 4.6 percent higher during the first half of 2008.
That compares to a 1.2-percent increase during the last six months of 2007.
The growth this year represents the second-largest six-month increase in farmland values during the last 10 years.
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In the West, the average value of farmland in Saskatchewan increased by 5.6 percent in the first half of 2008, continuing an upward trend that began 18 months ago, according to Farm Credit Canada (FCC).
Saskatchewan farmland increased three per cent in value in the first half of 2007 followed by a 7.8 percent increase in the last half of last year, said FCC's fall farmland values report released Monday.
Those increases are in sharp contrast to the trend of the last 10 years, which saw declines in farmland values of up to 4.3 percent between 1999 and 2002 and modest increases of up to 2.9 percent from 2002 to 2007.
The increases of the last year and a half are due mainly to the sharp run-up in commodity prices during that period, says Gerard Woynarski, a senior analyst with FCC in Regina. "As commodity prices go, so does farmland value, especially in the Prairies,'' Woynarski said.
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