Australian Farmland Values Plateau in 2025

As 2025 draws to a close, Australian farmland finds itself in transition. After more than a decade of rising values, the market appears to be leveling off, consistent with patterns seen throughout the year. Landholders face economic headwinds, emerging opportunities in niche and Indigenous-led agriculture, and fresh debates over land use—particularly between food production and renewable energy development.

Recent figures from Bendigo Bank Agribusiness’ 2025 farmland values report show the long boom in agricultural land prices has slowed dramatically. After 12 years of uninterrupted growth, median national farmland prices dipped slightly in the first half of 2025, marking a notable shift in the rural property market.

Australian Farmland Sales Falling

Transaction volumes also fell sharply, reaching multi-year lows as buyers and sellers adopted a more cautious stance.

Analysts cite several underlying causes: higher input costs, tighter profit margins, and subdued buyer confidence. Lower sales activity is partially driving the flattening trend, with fewer premium parcels exchanging hands and more transactions occurring in lower-priced regions.

Australian Farmland Varies by Region

Despite the national slowdown, not all areas are experiencing flat land values. In the Hunter region of New South Wales, farmland prices have continued a modest upward trend, rising nearly 5 percent over the past year.

The fertile land has sustained demand. South Australia was the only other state to see an increase in farmland values.

Areas with strong irrigation infrastructure and robust commodity demand still attract buyers, although overall market momentum is less vigorous than in recent years.

RELATED: This Midwest leader shows farmers how to conserve and protect their land to maintain their value and environmental strength.

Solar Energy in Australia

Farmland across Australia is also navigating competing land-use pressures. Solar farms and renewable energy projects are being developed on agricultural land, triggering fierce debate. A major grass fire recently broke out at one of the country’s largest solar farms in New South Wales, burning nearly 100 hectares and forcing temporary shutdowns.

The incident highlights both the opportunities and risks associated with collocating renewable infrastructure on productive land. While renewable energy can provide farmers with alternative income streams through leasing and long-term contracts, these projects can also create community friction and raise questions about fire risk management and land stewardship.

Simon Wright, senior research fellow in renewable energy at Charles Sturt University, told ABC that he believes that research shows solar farms pose no increased risk as temperatures rise compared to any other industrial facility," he said.

"Any industrial facility, any asset, would potentially be exposed to fire risk,” he said. "The solar farm in that regard is no different to any other industrial facility."

Australia Agriculture Looking for Outside Buyers

Changing weather conditions are something that producers and investors watch, of course. Understanding what is happening with them is part of an overall set of conditions that Danny Thomas, Senior Director of LAWD in Melbourne, tracks.

“I'm a big fan of Ag, and I like to invest in what I know,” Thomas, who grew up on a dairy farm, told American Farmland Owner.

LAWD is part of the emerging International Ag Alliance, a partnership between LAWD, Brown & Co. in the United Kingdom, and Peoples Company in the United States.

It connects investors with international agricultural opportunities. Thomas sees a match of what the country produces, despite weather changes, and outside interest in Australia’s potential.

“In Australia, we produce three times the amount of food and fiber that we can consume," he said.

RELATED: Danny Thomas explains how his experiences as a child on an Australian dairy farm guide him as an executive as an adult.