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National Land Realty (NLR), the nation's fastest-growing land brokerage firm specializing in farm, ranch, country estates, timber, recreational, and commercial development properties, has released its latest data on land sales across the United States. The report draws from NLR’s network of over 400 agents and brokers in 48 states to provide a year-to-date analysis of Q1 and Q2 agricultural land sales for 2024. It demonstrates stability in the national aggregate for average price per acre (PPA), while highlighting notable trends within outliers like Louisiana, Florida, and California.

National Aggregate

The data from NLR’s latest report showed that the average price per acre across the country remained relatively stable, having increased by only about 5% nationally. This comes in the wake of significant farmland appreciation over the past few years, with many parts of the country seeing record prices for farmland in 2023.

“Land prices have remained high in spite of increased input costs and interest rates, indicating significant demand across the country for irrigated and available farmland. This is largely due to massive consumer demand for produce, meat, dairy, and feed,” said Ronnie Richardson, CEO at NLR.

“While further increases are unlikely for the moment, I believe these values will remain strong for the foreseeable future—barring extensive drought, natural disasters, or an industry-shaking event akin to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Louisiana

According to NLR, the data found that the average price per acre in Louisiana decreased by $10,866, primarily due to some of the larger landowners beginning to divest themselves of some farmland holdings.

“Louisiana is largely farmland, where land values are influenced by the same forces as elsewhere: supply and demand. Price adjustments occur when production costs rise and commodity prices fall,” said Richardson. “Even with a slight decrease in price per acre, purchasing land remains attractive as divestments create opportunities for buyers to capitalize on economies of scale.”

California

Data revealed that California's average price per acre dropped by $12,226 over the past year—a significant 27% decline. This decrease is likely driven by a combination of high interest rates and low commodity prices for popular crops like almonds and walnuts. Since prices are relatively high in California overall, percentage-based factors like tax or interest-rate hikes hit the California market harder than they do other states.

“Reports of an exodus from California real estate have little implications for the agricultural market, which remains generally unaffected by geopolitics. Taxes and interest rates are far more likely to influence the market,” said Richardson.

“We do have a couple of large institutional investors looking to exit the California farmland market, but there are no buyers thus far. They may need to adjust their prices to match demand if they are serious about liquidating. With the average price per acre already down, I'd recommend watching the market closely and holding off on purchases for now."

Florida

In Florida, the average price per acre surged by $24,000 from 2023 to 2024, reflecting a remarkable 118% increase. This significant rise is driven primarily by the soaring demand for land in the state over the past year. Florida remains one of the top destinations for people moving to different states in the US, meaning this demand for available land in Florida isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

“It's the same issue here: supply and demand,” said Richardson. “Even though the price per acre is up, I would still recommend buying land in Florida as demand continues to rise. I would focus on transitional properties in particular as more people continue to move into the state. The key to Florida is simple: demand is driving everything."

Annex

About National Land Realty

National Land Realty (NLR) is the nation’s fastest growing real estate land brokerage company specializing in farm, ranch, country estates, timber, recreational, and commercial development properties. Highly regarded for its proprietary land touring technology, Land Tour 360®, as well as its GIS land mapping system, LandBase™, which catalogs land data in extremely detailed ways, the company makes it easy to view and zero in on the right property in the right place. Founded in Greenville, S.C. in 2007, NLR has more than 80 offices in 40 states. To learn more visit www.nationalland.com or call (855) 384-5263.

Methodological Note

The data in the report was derived from a compilation of land sales data provided by National Land Realty’s network of agents across the United States. The report compares 2023 sales data to sales data from the first half of 2024. For the first half of 2024, the data is based on 6,963 land transactions.

Note to the editors

A table with data for all states where National Land operates is available in the annex. A headshot of Ronnie Richardson, the company logo, and a map illustrating the states where land values are appreciating or depreciating the most can be accessed via this link.

Contact Details

Razor Sharp PR

Jo Detavernier

+1 210-803-2097

jo@razorsharppr.com

Company Website

https://nationalland.com/

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