What farmland costs per hectare in Australia

Australian farmland had a national median of $10,516 a hectare in 2025, up 2.8 per cent. State medians run from $7,255 in Western Australia to $18,424 in Tasmania. Listed farms range from about $840 a hectare in South Australia's Murraylands to over $80,000 for an irrigated avocado and banana farm. Rainfall, water and land use drive the price.

A hectare of Australian farmland sells for anything from about $150 for remote grazing country to more than $80,000 for irrigated horticulture, so the national median says little about the farm in front of you. Rainfall, water, soil, the type of farming and distance to a city or port set the price, and the headline figure also swings with the mix of sales in a year. This guide sets out the latest state medians, what 12 live farm listings across six states ask, how cropping, grazing, irrigated and horticultural land compare, what water entitlements trade for, and how a purchase is funded.

What farmland costs per hectare by state

The most-quoted national series is the Australian Farmland Values report from Bendigo Bank Agribusiness. Its 2026 edition covers 2025 sales: a record national median of $10,516 a hectare, up 2.8 per cent, the slowest rise in a run of 12 straight annual gains. About 6.3 million hectares changed hands for $14.3 billion, with transaction volume down 4.6 per cent.

Treat a state median as a mix of sales, not a price. South Australia's 20.4 per cent jump came largely from more sales in high-value lifestyle areas. Tasmania's 20.6 per cent fall came on 34.4 per cent fewer sales and about 10,000 hectares traded. The Northern Territory is outside the annual state table: the bank's mid-year update showed $2,456 a hectare from 23 sales in the first half of 2025. Datasets also disagree. Rabobank puts Western Australia's 2025 median at $8,850 against Bendigo's $7,255, and measured a 0.4 per cent national rise for 2025 against Bendigo's 2.8 per cent. Quote a source and a year.

What farms are asking right now

The table lists 12 farms with a price shown on farmbuy.com on 22 October 2026, each opened individually. Prices are vendor asking figures, not sale prices, and the per hectare column is our arithmetic. Each listing gives one price, so the figure blends land, water and improvements. Indicative market data, not Ventas offers.

Three things stand out. Rainfall and water set the tier: Murraylands, Wheatbelt and central west NSW cropping lists at about $840 to $5,200 a hectare, the Wimmera at about $16,700, and the irrigated and dairy farms at $26,000 to $43,000. Horticulture is priced on trees, water and sheds: Walkamin works out at about $86,200 a hectare, while Colignan has 16.43 planted hectares and lists near $13,500 overall. And asking prices move: Beef Central reported Strike A Light at a $9.7 million guide in August, and the listing now shows $7.0 million to $7.3 million, offered separately from neighbouring Crawfish Creek.

Cropping, grazing, irrigated and horticultural land

Land use is the biggest driver after location. Rabobank found grazing land values rose 3 per cent nationally in 2025 while arable land slipped 1 per cent. Grazing land rose 23 per cent in South Australia and 22 per cent in New South Wales, while New South Wales arable land fell 11 per cent. In Western Australia Rabobank's median was $6,330 a hectare for arable land and $18,600 for grazing land.

A Goulburn Valley broadacre cropping property at Major Plains sold for $11.3 million in March, about $22,500 a hectare (our arithmetic; Kevin Hicks Real Estate, via Shepparton News).

Five to ten year growth

Farmland has compounded fast. Rabobank puts average annual growth in the national median at about 11 per cent over the past decade, roughly 2.8 times (our arithmetic: 11 per cent compounded for ten years), and 10.72 per cent a year since 2019. Rabobank's Western Australia data shows about 140 per cent over five years.

The pace has slowed. Rabobank measured a 2.6 per cent fall in 2024 and a 0.4 per cent rise in 2025, and its base case is about 2 per cent growth in 2026 with similar moderate growth to 2031. Valuations agree: the NSW Valuer-General's 1 July 2025 rural valuations were down 0.4 per cent statewide, with Liverpool Plains up 17.9 per cent and Snowy Monaro down 14.3 per cent. Ray White measured a national median of $11,032 a hectare in the March quarter of 2026 on 1,055 sales, down 35 per cent on a year earlier. Incomes are the pressure point: ABARES forecasts, as reported by Australian Broker, put average broadacre farm profit down about 70 per cent in 2026-27 to about $65,000 a farm.

What water entitlements are worth

In the southern Murray-Darling Basin water is bought and sold apart from land, and a licence can be worth more than the paddock it waters. Bendigo says buyers are prioritising water security. Elders' indicative permanent water prices for the week beginning 12 October 2026:

These are broker ranges, not registered trades, and the last row is an asking price. A season's allocation is a different market, at $200 to $330 a megalitre in the same update. At the Murrumbidgee range, 500 ML would cost $4.3 million to $4.35 million (our arithmetic), more than the asking price of six of the 12 farms above. WSP's August 2026 report put the southern basin's entitlements at $33.3 billion. Listings quote water in different units, from Tirroan's 501 ML Sunwater allocation to Colignan's 1,225 ML annual use limit, so confirm whether a figure means shares or only a right to use water, and have your solicitor apportion the price between land and water.

Costs on top of the price

Transfer duty is set by each state. Victoria's general rate is $110,000 plus 6.5 per cent of the value above $2 million, so the $2.9 million Kaniva asking price would attract $168,500 (our arithmetic from the State Revenue Office table, before any concession). Concessions exist, such as Victoria's family farm exemption, so ask before assuming the full rate. GST: a farmland sale can be GST-free if the land has been farmed for the five years before the sale and the buyer intends to keep farming it (ATO). Add valuation, legal and due diligence costs and a working capital buffer to the first harvest. Confirm each with your accountant.

Financing a farm purchase

Farm lending runs off valuation and cash flow. A bank lends against its own valuation, not the contract price, and any gap is yours to fund. Lender appetite is mixed: remote grazing and low rainfall cropping country draw more caution, 2026-27 farm profit forecasts are weak, and Bendigo expects rising rates to keep buyers cautious. Ventas is a finance broker, not a lender, so we do not quote rates. Lenders are agribusiness banks, non-bank lenders and private lenders, whose loans are typically business-purpose and not consumer regulated. Concessional loans of up to $2 million from the Regional Investment Corporation, including AgriStarter for buying into an existing farm, can sit alongside them. A Victorian agribusiness broker quoted in 2017 trade press put loan-to-value ratios near 60 per cent for dryland cropping and as low as 40 per cent for grazing. That is an old data point, and policy varies by lender, region and season.

Illustrative only, subject to lender assessment. A 240 hectare cropping farm in western Victoria at $4,000,000 (about $16,700 a hectare):

And how it is typically funded across lender types:

Debt here is 80 per cent of the cash needed, but only 60 per cent of the farm price sits against the farm. The rest leans on your other property and the machinery, which a lender values at what used gear would resell for. Repayments can follow income: one a year after harvest for cropping, more often for dairy. A property-backed loan can fund the equity gap, at the cost of putting that property at risk. See how a loan against rural property or farmland works.

What makes a farm deal fundable:

• Valuation. The bank's valuation supports the price.
• Cash flow. A budget that services the debt in a dry season, and farming experience.
• Water. Entitlements documented and transferring with the land.
• Equity. Cash and other property you can put in.
• Clean books. Tax returns and BAS up to date.

To get a number from Ventas, send the property, the asking price, the split between land, water, plant and stock, your farming history, two to three years of financials, the equity you can put in and the security you can offer. Start at agricultural finance, or see what a vineyard costs when water and trees are priced apart. Finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Figures are indicative market data from the sources listed, not Ventas offers, and move with the market. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a professional. All finance is subject to lender assessment and approval.

This article is general information only and not financial, credit, or tax advice. Ventas Asset Lending is a finance broker, not a lender. Approvals are subject to lender assessment. Consider your own circumstances and speak to a qualified professional, including your accountant for any tax questions.