Land prices for nature areas and agricultural use: national trends

Land prices for nature areas and for agricultural use have risen sharply in recent years.

Trends

The price of land that is zoned as constituting a nature area increased from almost EUR 30 000 per hectare in 1999 to more than EUR 37 000 in 2001. These prices relate to land for nature reserves, nature development projects, existing nature areas, country estates, woodland/forest and landscape elements, land development projects and buffer zones.

The price of agricultural land also rose sharply, with the average increasing by almost 50% from more than EUR 25 000 to over EUR 37 000 per hectare. This rise was partly due to the overall growth of the economy during that period. The price of agricultural land is highest in areas which are under serious urban pressure, in particular the western and central parts of the country. The upward trend levelled off in the course of 2001.

The price of land for nature areas is commensurate with that for agricultural land because these two functions are in competition with one another on the real estate market. In 2001, the Land and Water Management Service (Dienst Landelijk Gebied, DLG) purchased approximately 6900 hectares of land for use as nature areas. Purchases of land for agriculture and horticulture was far more extensive, with 54 000 hectares being purchased for those purposes in the same year.

Technical note

Land prices for nature areas relate to purchases by the DLG. An average price has been calculated for each year. The prices given for agricultural land relate to non-leasehold land. The figures are from Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the DLG and the Land Registry Office (Kadaster, Kadata).

References

• DLG (2001, 2002). Jaarverslagen 2000 en 2001. Dienst Landelijk Gebied. Utrecht.
• DLG (2002). Ontwikkelingen op de agrarische grondmarkt. Bijlage bij brief (DLG 2002/27918, 22 mei 2002) van de Staatssecretaris van LNV aan de Tweede Kamer.
• LEI (2002). Landbouw-Economisch Bericht 2002. Landbouw Economisch Instituut. Den Haag.
• Luijt, J. (2002). De grondmarkt in segmenten. Rapport 4.02.01 Landbouw Economisch Instituut. Den Haag.