Value of Okanagan farmland up nearly $10K per acre over last 2 years

Okanagan farmland has seen a significant increase in value over the past two years.

A new report from Farm Credit Canada (FCC) found that the average value of an acre of farmland in the Okanagan jumped 14.3% in 2022.

The cost of an average acre is $34,000, up from $29,700 in 2021 and $24,400 in 2020. FCC did not release these statistics for the Okanagan before 2020.

According to the report, the value range of an acre of Okanagan farmland ranges all the way from $15,900 to $95,800.

The 14.3% increase in value in the Okanagan is second in British Columbia behind only the Kootenays, which saw a staggering 33.6% jump in farmland value in 2022.

Despite seeing the largest increase in value in 2022, those two regions are third and fourth in BC when it comes to the value per acre, as the Kootenays come in at $22,400 per acre.

The most valuable farmland in the province is found in the South Coast region, at $139,000 per acre, while Vancouver Island is second at $63,800 per acre.

The South Coast, Vancouver Island and Okanagan regions are also the top three most valuable farmland in Canada.

A pair of Ontario regions round out the top five, the province’s South West region ($28,900) and Central West region ($25,600), while the Kootenays comes in at sixth in Canada.

“Historically, we have seen that farmland values take time to adjust to economic changes,” explained the FCC report. “Moreover, with prices for most principal field crops reaching record highs, demand for well-situated farmland remained robust.”

Overall, the value of BC’s farmland increased by 8% in 2022 and the value of Canada’s farmland as a whole went up by 12.8%.

To see the entire FCC report, click this link.