The price of an acre of Fraser Valley farmland is about six times higher than in the rest of western Canada, according to a report from Re/Max.
“Dairy farms in the Chilliwack-Fraser Valley sell for up to $63,000 per acre,” noted the Re/Max Market Report Farms 2014, released Sept. 30, which noted the lowest price Fraser Valley farmland sold this year for $41,000 per acre.
Some crop farmland in Surrey and Delta have sold for more than $75,000 per acre this summer, said Bryan VanHoepen of Re/Max Nyda in Chilliwack who has been selling farmland for 21 years.
Prices rose modestly in 2014, but are close to the same level as two years ago, he said.
British Columbia also has among the lowest priced farmland in Canada. Bare farmland in the Peace River North sold for between $750 and $1,550 per acre this year, Re/Max found, which is lower than prices seen in other western provinces.
The report said that farmland prices in Alberta ranged from $1,000 to $10,000 per acre, while in Saskatchewan, farms sold this year for $950 to $2,550 acre, with slightly lower prices in Manitoba.
Some Ontario farmland near Toronto and slated for development reached as high as $54,000 per acre this year, but typical prices across the province were in the $7,000-per-acre range, Re/Max found.
Most farmland in B.C. is under the agriculture land reserve, which restricts its use for residential or commercial development.
Nationally, farmland prices have increased 15% in the past year, according to Statistics Canada.
