The NSW Valuer General, Dr David Parker, has published land values for the Murray region. The land values reflect the value of land only, as at 1 July 2021.
Land values across the Murray region have experienced a very strong increase since 1 July 2020.
The total land value for the Murray region increased by 28.9% between 1 July 2020 and 1 July 2021 from $13.7 billion to $17.6 billion.
Commercial land values overall showed a strong increase by 11.5%, driven by strong increases in Federation (24.8%), Edward River (14.7%) and Albury (10.7%). Murray River had a moderate increase (6.6%).
Overall, industrial land values increased by 12.2%, with the largest increase experienced in Federation (18.6%). Albury (14.2%) also experienced a strong increase driven by strong demand for industrial properties as the Albury Wodonga economy continues to expand.
Rural land values overall showed a very strong increase at 43.1%, including very strong increases in Berrigan (82.3%), Edward River (53.6%) and Federation (42.5%). Albury (14.5%) experienced a strong increase.
Federation Council Mayor, Cr Pat Bourke said it was great to see in the Murray Region Land Values that the Federation Council LGA was topping statistics in respect to commercial land, industrial and rural land values.
"Over the last four years Council has had a very strategic approach when it comes to our marketing of the Federation LGA and promoting it as a great place to work, live and visit," he said.
"Following the merger, an unprecedented level of investment has also gone into communities to improve the livability of our entire area and I think that has a lot to do with the increase in land values and why more and more people are choosing to work, live and visit the Federation region."
Mayor Bourke said there was no doubt that after several difficult years on the land due to drought that the previous two harvest seasons have seen great success for local farmers and also attributed to the increase in rural land values.
"I believe there is certainly a growing confidence in the rural sector from a lot of residents I speak to," he said.
"Due to this confidence there are many farmers who are investing heavily in their operations, especially family run operations with the hope of further favorable seasonal conditions. It is really great to see and undoubtedly a strong link to the increase in land values for this industry sector."
Mayor Bourke said he also believes the location of the Federation LGA has a big part to play in the demand Council are seeing for residential and commercial investment, with Federation topping both of these categories.
"We know with Covid there has been a shift in the way people think, and due to the fact that many places within the Federation LGA are only a 2.5 hour drive from Melbourne and 6 hour drive to Sydney, many are choosing to locate their businesses and live within our Council area to enjoy our unique rural living but still be close to the hustle and bustle that the big city Centre's are known for."
Mayor Bourke said for Federation Council as a governing body, the results confirm the direction in which Council is going is the correct one.
"We are actively working in strategically planning for future growth across all areas of residential, commercial, industrial and rural land settings to meet the demand," he said.
"Council looks forward to presenting this work to the community via our Growth Strategy development currently underway."
