Price of Old Farm Properties in France Slows in 2007

The price of old farm properties rose by 6.8% in 2007, down from 8% the previous year, but still ahead of the rise in the general housing market, according to 'SAFER', the French national land agency. In their annual report on the price of farmland and farm properties, SAFER state that the average price for an old farm purchased by non-farmers went from €206,000 in 2006, to €220,000 last year. The property included with it land averaging around 2 acres. Over the last ten years, the price of such properties has increased by 178%, larger than the rise in the general market, which rose by 136% over the same period. Nevertheless, SAFER report that prices started to drop in the last quarter of the year, notably those properties located furthest from the main towns and cities, due in the main to the rising cost of fuel. 783
Highest prices were to be found in the Paris Basin, the Mediterranean, and anywhere along the coastline of the country. Outside of these areas, the hot spots were Brittany, Normandy, and the south west region around the Dordogne. The price of farmland itself increased by 3.4% last year, after two years of stable prices during 2005/6. The market is clearly benefiting from the increase in cereal prices over the past two years, although SAFER suggest that the full effects of the increase in grain has yet to have to be fully felt, with the prospect of further significant rises in 2008. Over the past ten years, the price of farmland has risen by 60%. The average price per hectare for farmland was €4900, but with a significant price differential between the amount paid by the farmers, and that by the general population. Whilst the former paid on average €4500 per hectare, others paid a premium of 25%, giving an average price of €5650 per hectare. Despite the crisis in the wine industry, the price of vineyards also rose by an average of 11%, to reach €93,000 per hectare. These increases were in general focussed in Champagne, Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Provence, whilst other areas of the country either remained stable, or actually saw a fall in prices. You can read more, concerning the same study carried out last year, here.