Value of Okanagan farmland up 14% in 2022
Global News
High land prices in the Okanagan are making it hard for new farmers to buy property. However, interest rate hikes appear to be decreasing the demand for agricultural land.
A new report from Farm Credit Canada says the value of agricultural land in the Okanagan was up significantly in 2022.
The report said the value of cultivated farmland in the region rose more than 14 per cent during the year to a benchmark price of $34,000 an acre.
Notably, the data doesn’t include orchards and vineyards.
Cody Hall, an appraiser with Farm Credit Canada, said high demand and low supply of land were major factors in the value increase at the start of last year.
An Okanagan real estate agent who specializes in farmland paints a similar picture.
Elya Byrne said in 2021 and in the start of 2022 there was “unprecedented growth” across all different parts of the Okanagan real estate market.
However, the real estate agent says interest rate hikes in 2022 have really changed the market.
Still, the manager of the BC Land Matching Program that helps connect farmers with agricultural property to cultivate is not surprised to see the report of land value increases in the Okanagan and B.C. as a whole.
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