A review of the movement in prices for agricultural land in each department of France between 2010-2019.

Around half of the sales were to tenant farmers already installed on the land, whose interests are keenly protected by SAFER, with both benefiting from a right of pre-emption.

Around 20% of sales of non-tenanted land was to non-agricultural buyers, most of whom are investors who seek a change of planning use on the land or who simply rent the land for continued agricultural use.

In terms of prices, the national average for untenanted agricultural land was €6,000/hectare, but with variations depending on use. For arable land the national average was €7,290/hectare, for mixed-crop and livestock land €5,970/hectare and for grazing land €4,670/hectare.

Prices are lower where the land is sold to a tenant farmer, who is in a position of strengh with the landowner, due to the security of tenure granted to farmers. The national average selling price for such land was €4,760, with variations as above by type of land.

On a national level prices have remained broadly stable for at least five years. Indeed, as can be seen below, over ten years prices have remained relatively stagnant in most areas of the country.

As might be expected, there are significant variations in prices across the country, from an average of €2,380/ha in the department of Saône-et-Loire (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) to over €16,000/ha in the Bouches-du-Rhône (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur).

At a regional level, the most expensive region for farmland in France is around the Paris Basin, and in the departments of Bouches-du-Rhône and Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

Lowest average prices are in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and Pay de la Loire, regions where there is a high concentration of land for grazing of livestock.

The table below shows the average prices in each department for 2010 and 2019, using a three-year rolling average for each year. The figures are for untenanted land without buildings, and excludes vineyards.

Prices within departments are by no means uniform, with sometimes significant variations between different areas, so the information should only be used as a general guide.