3 New Trends and Drivers for Agricultural Land Use in Germany
43
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
€/hectare
year
Germany
Former federal territory
New federal states
Fig. 3.1 Agricultural land prices in Germany, 2001–2018, e/ha (Source Own compilation
according to Statistisches Bundesamt (various years), Fachserie 3, Reihe 2.4, Tab. 1.4.)
Figure 3.1 shows the development of agricultural land prices in the period 2001–
2018. The figure shows average land purchase values of around 10,000 e/ha until
2007, with around 4,000 e/ha in East Germany and around 17,000 e/ha in West
Germany. Since then, land prices almost doubled in West Germany and more than
quadrupled in East Germany, which is a remarkable increase in a few years. Though
there has been some convergence of land prices in East and West Germany in relative
terms, the absolute difference has remained at around 15,000 e/ha for many years,
and increased to 22,000 e/ha in 2018.
The rise in land prices is only partly accompanied by more active land markets in
terms of the number of sales and the area sold. The number of sales has been around
45,000 between 2010 and 2014, with a slightly increasing trend since then. Half of
this increased land market activity takes place in East Germany. The area sold has
been around 40,000 ha per year in West Germany over the whole period whereas
it has been around 65,000 ha per year in East Germany for many years, decreasing
from 2015 to 45,000 ha in 2018.
The overall share of land market sales in total agricultural land used is rather
small, with 0.7% for Germany in total and 0.3% for West Germany. However, the
picture is different for East Germany: Here, the land mobility has evolved from 1% in
2004 to 1.2% in 2007, to 1.4% in 2015 and 0.8% in 2018 (Statistisches Bundesamt,
various years, Fachserie 3, Reihe 2.4).
43
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
€/hectare
year
Germany
Former federal territory
New federal states
Fig. 3.1 Agricultural land prices in Germany, 2001–2018, e/ha (Source Own compilation
according to Statistisches Bundesamt (various years), Fachserie 3, Reihe 2.4, Tab. 1.4.)
Figure 3.1 shows the development of agricultural land prices in the period 2001–
2018. The figure shows average land purchase values of around 10,000 e/ha until
2007, with around 4,000 e/ha in East Germany and around 17,000 e/ha in West
Germany. Since then, land prices almost doubled in West Germany and more than
quadrupled in East Germany, which is a remarkable increase in a few years. Though
there has been some convergence of land prices in East and West Germany in relative
terms, the absolute difference has remained at around 15,000 e/ha for many years,
and increased to 22,000 e/ha in 2018.
The rise in land prices is only partly accompanied by more active land markets in
terms of the number of sales and the area sold. The number of sales has been around
45,000 between 2010 and 2014, with a slightly increasing trend since then. Half of
this increased land market activity takes place in East Germany. The area sold has
been around 40,000 ha per year in West Germany over the whole period whereas
it has been around 65,000 ha per year in East Germany for many years, decreasing
from 2015 to 45,000 ha in 2018.
The overall share of land market sales in total agricultural land used is rather
small, with 0.7% for Germany in total and 0.3% for West Germany. However, the
picture is different for East Germany: Here, the land mobility has evolved from 1% in
2004 to 1.2% in 2007, to 1.4% in 2015 and 0.8% in 2018 (Statistisches Bundesamt,
various years, Fachserie 3, Reihe 2.4).