Saskatchewan Farmland Prices
Farmland prices in Saskatchewan rose 7.5 per cent in 2016. The largest increase in the province was recorded in the southwestern region at 16.6 per cent.
Price variations across the province were attributed to a number of reasons, but extra wet summer and harvest seasons were especially relevant for many. Some areas recorded no increase in values. The northwestern region saw a 10.3 per cent increase and the northeastern region a 9.3 per cent increase. In the west-central region there was a 7.8 per cent increase.
Farmland Prices Across Canada
The average farmland price increase was less than in the neighbouring provinces of Alberta (raise of 9.5 per cent) and Manitoba (raise of 8.1 per cent). However, it did come close to the Canadian average of 7.9 per cent. You can find the full Farm Credit Canada (FCC) farmland values report here.
Future Trends
Overall, the average national values have continued to increase since 1993. However, while farmland prices are still on the rise across Canada, the rate of increase seems to be on a downward trend for the past few years. In 2013 we saw a record increase of 28.5 per cent. In 2014 the increase fell by almost half, down to 14.3 per cent, and in 2015 the Canadian average saw gains of only 10.1 per cent.
J.P. Gervais, vice-president and chief agricultural economist with FCC says, “The fact is … the average change in farmland values across the country has been starting again to slow down. That’s the third successive year that we’ve seen the rate of increase in farmland slowing down.”
Gervais says that this trend will continue, and farmland prices should be expected to rise by three to four per cent in 2017.
Keep watching our news to stay on top of the farmland pricing trends!