Where Victorian farm land values go BALLISTIC
YOU might think the most valuable farm real estate in Victoria is where irrigation or high rainfall guarantees production.
Think again.
A farm of about 322 acres (130 hectares) on Melbourne’s suburban fringe in late 2020 is believed to have sold for $260,000,000 or an astonishing $807,453 an acre!
A large residential development company is believed to have bought this rezoned Clyde based farm real estate.
Over the past few years farm real estate on Melbourne’s south eastern suburban fringe has yielded astronomical per acre prices as rezoned residential land.
Between 2015-2019 per acre values in the Cardinia and Casey municipalities for some farm real estate ranged between $12,500 to $20,000 per acre.*
But for farm real estate in or near designated urban growth areas in these municipalities per acre values have gone ballistic over the past five years.
Developers, investors, local and overseas farmers fuel these amazing values as they vie for land with residential subdivision potential.
Soil that Grows Homes
The 2016 established Victorian Planning Authority regulates urban growth areas and other residential planning controls.
Under these controls local municipalities decide where to place Precinct Structure Plans (PSP) to build residential subdivisions.
The Casey and Cardinia municipalities contain some of Victoria’s fastest growing residential areas not far from active farms.
Local real estate agents say speculators buy farm land in or near special use and green wedge zones and wait until it is rezoned residential.
Raine and Horne Land Victoria Cranbourne office specialises in farm real estate sales around designated urban growth corridors. http://www.rh.com.au/cranbourne
Land Banking and Leasing
Director in charge Micky Sidhu runs the business while fellow director and senior property consultant Vats Jaitly handles farm land sales.
About 40 per cent of the offices buyer inquiry for farm land in late 2024 was from southern Asian countries according to Vats and the rest from Australia.
Their office has received inquiries from India, Chinese and Sri Lankan interests to buy farm real estate for investment and land banking.
Vats says investors often ask if a lease arrangement is available with a farm so if they buy it they get a return without actually farming it.
Farm land with residential subdivision potential in their sales area exists along a number of roads. These include Manks Road, Clyde Road, Tooradin Station Road, Dalmore, Ballarto, Bunyip River and Main Drain roads.
In a May 2022 sale 665-735 Manks Road KooWeeRup on about 60.1 hectares (148 acres) in a green wedge zone sold for about $104,730 an acre.
Reported sold in February 2023 for $44,262 an acre was 1230 Manks Road KooWeeRup in a special use zone on about 24.4ha (about 61 acres).
Tooradin farm 550 Manks Road on about 30.22ha (about 73 acres) in a green wedge zone was reported sold for about $37,055 an acre in December 2022.
Buyers want Good Soil and a Long Settlement
Elders Real Estate Delaney Group Bunyip agent, Ray Cullen, operates in the Cardinia, Casey, BawBaw and South Gippsland municipalities. http://www.delaneygroup.eldrsrealestate.com.au
Factors driving per acre values higher within Ray’s sales area include land speculators, fertile soil, availability of irrigation and an over 800mm annual average rainfall.
In recent years Ray got calls from India and China looking for farming land although the speculative Chinese inquiry has decreased recently.
“There are a lot of very wealthy Indians in the market, some with farming interests or with overseas farming history,” Ray says.
In August 2022 Ray sold a market garden at 1020 Manks Road Dalmore in a special use zone on 14.4ha (about 36 acres) for $62,817 an acre.
Late June 2025 he completed another Dalmore sale of a 19.35ha (about 48 acres) market garden to a local farmer that averaged about $70,000 an acre.
“There are a lot of very wealthy Indians in the market, some with farming interests or with overseas farming history, ” says Ray.
It is obvious to Ray land speculators are active in his sales area.
A trend he has noticed when a rural property is sold is it can come back onto the market within a short time generally with an increased price.
“I have noticed that some buyers are sort of rolling them over all the time,” Ray says.
A current example of this turnover is Cardinia market garden 665-735 Manks Road. It was sold for a reported $15,500,000 in May 2022 and in September 2025 the 60.1ha farm was listed again with a $17,000,000 price range.
Vendor Beware
Ray has sold farm real estate where buyers often ask to have conditions attached to the contract.
“How many years settlement, that’s one of the leading questions,” Ray says.
For long settlement periods and other contract conditions Ray warns farm owners to carefully check the contract to have it legally verified before signing.
Casey City and Cardinia Shire municipalities have seen phenomenal per acre farm land values as buyers vie for potential tracts of residential subdivision land.
