IN our final weekly property review for the year, experts from rural property marketing networks reflect on the year that was.

The property market in different regions has been buffeted by uncertainty surrounding tariffs and trade access, and contrasting seasonal conditions in different parts of the country – offset by a vibrant beef export market that has become increasingly bullish as the year has progressed.

Head of rural and agribusiness at Colliers, Rawdon Briggs said livestock assets across Australia have become increasingly attractive, driven by significant commodity price changes for beef and lamb.

“These trends are supported by global tailwinds, with stable to slightly increased returns in high-rainfall grain and cotton cropping assets,” he said.

Mr Briggs said Queensland’s strong cattle markets and favourable seasonal conditions supported demand for northern grazing land.

“Northern New South Wales and the Northern Territory delivered steady growth, driven by strong commodity prices and reliable rainfall, attracting both domestic and offshore capital seeking scale and long-term security.”

Highlighting standout transactions, Mr Briggs identified the New England’s McPhee Beef Farms as exemplifying the value of high-rainfall, high-production pastures and quality management.

The sale, which included a carbon consideration, exceeded $150 million and was acquired by a new agriculture fund manager.

“Feedlot sales have also seen a significant jump in values, particularly following the ProTen sale to KKR, which set a new benchmark for intensive livestock assets.”

Providing examples of record prices, Mr Briggs chose the 30,758ha Elrose Station in North Queensland.

“It achieved a regional record result for a pastoral lease and freehold lot, selling for $31.333m to the Bassingthwaighte family. The property’s highway frontage, diverse soil and pasture types, and rising live export cattle market contributed to this outstanding outcome.”

Mr Briggs found large family buyers with professional advice and scalable balance sheets were the fastest movers in today’s market.

He said offshore investors continued to target scale and quality, reflecting the global appetite for Australian agriculture as a natural hedge to North American assets.

“There is a significant recovery in the New Zealand agricultural market, which is about 12 months ahead of what we expect to see in Australian farmland liquidity. Interest from highly engaged offshore capital will continue, driven by demand for food and fibre,” he said.

Sam Triggs, Inglis Rural Property, NSW

Inglis Rural Property chief executive Sam Triggs suggests the 2025 rural property market has been characterised by significant variation, with buyers behaving astutely and selectively, yet overall activity remains robust.

“In some cases, transaction outcomes have been notably bullish, while others reflect more challenging conditions.”

Sam Triggs

“New South Wales is generally stabilising after experiencing a 10-15 percent correction during 2024. Buyers remain highly selective and vendors with well-presented assets, underpinned by professional management, are being rewarded,” he said.

Mr Triggs said his office has facilitated several major transactions across Eastern Australia in the $15-$30 million range in both Victoria and New South Wales.

“Investment demand has largely been driven by off-farm capital seeking high-quality commercial mixed-farming properties, including cropping and livestock.”

“Values for livestock properties in New South Wales are in the order of $1000/DSE to $1250/DSE, plus improvements and water licences,” he said.

Mr Triggs said renewed confidence, driven by strengthening sheep and cattle prices in spring, saw owner-operators re-enter the market and willing to pay strong premiums, particularly for neighbouring holdings.

“The strongest sale outcomes are generally ‘circumstantial’ – in other words, must-have acquisitions for neighbours, strategic purchases for investors or flagship properties that rarely come to market.”

He said a notable trend is the heightened focus on the percentage of arable land, even for grazing enterprises, as buyers prioritise ease-of-management and the capacity for development and improvement.

He identified a standout property transaction as Summit Farm near Nathalia in Victoria, that sold in June for around $15m.

“The asset generated strong interest from both corporate groups and local investors but ultimately sold to a local farming family. The Inglis team has also managed two off-market transactions in the $22m to $30m range, in line with vendors’ confidentiality preferences.”

In terms of a standout region, Mr Triggs named the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales (Goulburn, Yass, Crookwell) as performing strongly due to sustained investment from both local farmers and external groups.

“Traditionally dominated by grazing enterprises, the region has evolved with grazing crops, forestry, renewable energy interests and alternative investor profiles all underpinning demand.”

High-net-worth investors continued to seek commercial farmland within proximity to Sydney and Canberra, with the Sydney to Albury corridor remaining an attractive zone for off-farm capital, he said.

Mr Triggs said currently, the most active buyers were off-farm investors seeking stable asset classes, along with institutional investors with mandates for cropping, redevelopment and hybrid carbon farming projects.

“For private off-farm investors, many have recently exited businesses or other major investments and now view agriculture as a sector offering reliable capital growth prospects and relatively stable land values – a safe place to deploy capital amidst global economic and geopolitical volatility.”

Elders, Tom Russo and Mark Barber

Tom Russo, the divisional CEO at Elders Real Estate, observed that the 2025 rural property market experienced a significant transition, following several years of rapid growth.

“In recent years, Australia has experienced a golden era in terms of farmland value appreciation. Explosive growth saw national agricultural land values more than double since the pandemic, with 2021 and 2022 delivering annual growth rates of around 25 percent.”

Tom Russo

Mr Russo said it was a story of supply and demand, with many contributing factors.

He identified the key drivers as historically low interest rates and farm debt, robust capital appreciation resulting in strong farmer balance sheets, record farm deposits and strong commodity prices.

Mr Russo also believes the rural property sector is maturing and attracting increased institutional investment.

“In relative terms, institutional investment in agricultural land holdings is a new thing. Given the strong macro-outlook for agriculture, many have sought to allocate funds to agriculture as part of a diversified portfolio strategy.”

“Active fund managers have also been able to prove themselves and therefore attract further capital. This has resulted in increased capital flows which have largely outweighed supply or investment opportunities. This has led to rapid price increases and consolidation of farmland holdings,” he said.

Mr Russo noted the market fundamentally shifted in 2024/2025 as prices plateaued.

He described it as inevitable, saying it marked the end of one of the most dramatic rural property cycles in Australian history.

“On a national basis, 2024 delivered two percent in capital growth. Fundamentally, you can’t keep achieving capital growth at that rate and maintain acceptable returns on capital or meet bank serviceability requirements.”

Mr Russo also highlighted tough seasonal conditions in some southern areas, volatile commodity prices (especially in cattle and sheep markets), global economic uncertainty and geopolitical volatility (including US tariffs on beef), as creating uncertainty and impacting market confidence, resulting in people being less bullish on new investments.

“In light of this, transaction volumes virtually halved, while average days on market doubled. This is not a bad thing for pricing, as it will ensure there isn’t an oversupply, but it has created some market paralysis, with people waiting to see what happens.”

Mark Barber

Mark Barber heads up Elders’ Agribusiness Investment Services and said seasonal conditions influenced this year’s rural property market.

“Livestock property prices were supported by strong cattle prices and generally good seasonal conditions,” he said.

“Southern livestock properties were affected by the severe drought across Victoria and South Australia. As the season improves, more property will come onto the market in these areas. While buyers remain cautious, they are starting to commit to transactions.”

Mr Barber said Rawlinna was a standout grazing sale.

At 10,117sq km, Rawlinna is regarded as Australia’s largest sheep property, recently running around 60,000 Merinos, and with a working capacity of around 80,000 head. Located 400km east of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, it was sold as a going concern, walk-in, walk-out, including the sheep flock.

Mr Barber identified the sale of the Kimberly Meat Co (KMC) and Yeeda Station as another standout.

“Acquired by AIMCO through their local manager New Agri, it was an important purchase by a large-scale multinational investor. Also, it was an endorsement of the future of cattle production in the north.”

Mr Barber said Elders serviced all segments of the market, but family farmers had been and continued to be the dominant and most active buyers in the market.

“Even at institutional levels, family farms backed by large-scale long-term investors are active and competitive. The successful family farms are corporatising and take a disciplined but intergenerational view of investing.”

LAWD Danny Thomas

LAWD senior director Danny Thomas described 2025 as a year of recovery and consolidation after a relatively quiet 2024.

“The last 12 months have experienced a fair bit of activity, particularly in the family space. Many of the larger deals in both the grazing and cropping markets have been secured by producers who are expanding, with strong competition from Central Queensland producers, those in Organic production and Wagyu breeders.”

LAWD negotiated three significant grazing sales this year.

• Described as one of the New England’s finest agricultural assets, the 5003ha Wirribilla achieved around $75m (including around 1500 mixed cows and weaners). The breeding and backgrounding property is located 20km south-west of Walcha and can run 73,000DSE.
• In what is regarded as the biggest grazing transaction in Queensland this year, the central portion of Meeleebee Downs (spanning 10,258ha) in southern Queensland raised more than $60 million (bare).
• The 33,959ha Taylors Plains, a showpiece Wagyu breeding and finishing property, 101km north of Mungallala in south-west Queensland’s Maranoa district, sold for $55m ($1619/ha) bare or $66 million WIWO including 2500 breeders and followers.

Thoughts for next year

On the back of this period of recovery and consolidation, Mr Thomas predicts property prices will bump next year.

Danny Thomas

“While it remains tough in some market segments, Australia is in the midst of a red meat boom. Cattle and lamb prices are going exceptionally well and that will heavily influence the property market in 2026.”

Mr Thomas said the smart money will act early in 2026 and by the end of next year, property prices will have jumped.

“People will be surprised at how quickly properties, currently available in the market, will be taken up. Once that happens, potential buyers will be competing strongly for a limited number of assets.”

He doesn’t anticipate seeing many corporates acting in the livestock space, saying the segment would continue to be dominated by smart local farmers.

This is Beef and Sheep Central’s final weekly property review for 2025. I wish all readers and our property industry contacts across Australia, a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year. Our weekly property reviews will return in January 2026.

In the meantime, readers may be interested in perusing our “Properties for Sale” listings or our “Recent Property Sale Results” – both featuring easy-to-use search functions.

– Linda Rowley, property editor.