Updated on March 26, 2026
How do you set the selling price of agricultural land? Should a discount be applied if the property is leased? Can you set the selling price as you wish? What is the impact of BPS (Basic Payment Scheme) on land valuation? These are all questions we are regularly asked during a project to sell a farm. Here is an overview of the elements to take into account.
Every year, the Ministry of Agriculture publishes an indicative scale on the average market value of agricultural land in France. This document is published for information purposes and can be used by taxpayers in particular to evaluate agricultural land for the calculation of the IFI (Real Estate Wealth Tax) or for the calculation of inheritance tax.
For each sector of each department, it contains an average price, a minimum price and a maximum price. It includes 4 tables depending on the status of the land: freehold land, leased land, land in the Overseas Departments and Regions and land for vineyards.
This data comes from statistics provided by SAFER, whose public service mission includes managing a land price observatory.
These data constitute a useful reference but have limited granularity. Our own statistics from DVF (Land Value Requests) data, available in our rural real estate price observatory, now supplement this information with more recent and precise data at the departmental level.
The tax authorities publish every 6 months the real estate transactions carried out in France during the previous six-month period, and have done so since 2014. These statistical data are accessible on the internet and can be consulted in particular on the DVF website and on many other sites using the same data.
Be careful, because when it comes to data on sales of agricultural land, woods and forests, etc., the risk of misinterpreting the data is high.
Indeed, when a sale involves several plots, the DVF site allows you to see the overall sale price and the other plots sold if they are part of the same cadastral section. If other plots have been sold and are located in another cadastral section, the transaction will state that other plots have been sold in another cadastral section, but it will not be possible to identify these plots. Even more problematic, if the sale involves plots located in several municipalities, no mention will be made of the plot examined, so it will not be possible to know.
Aware of this complexity, we have developed an agricultural land price observatory based on this DVF data, filtering transactions to retain only sales of pure agricultural land (excluding buildings). This tool provides access to reliable statistics at regional and departmental level, with average and median prices, and P10/P90 ranges from 2020 to 2025.
In 2024, the national average price stood at €6,038/ha (median: €5,284/ha), for 14,395 transactions recorded. In the 1st half of 2025, the national average price rose to €6,057/ha, as did the median price to €5,311/ha.
CONSULT OUR LAND PRICE OBSERVATORY IN FRANCE
First of all, it is necessary to point out that the selling price of agricultural land can be set freely.
The price of agricultural land is determined by the meeting of the seller's demand and the buyer's need.
It can vary according to the agronomic quality of the plots, their size, their access, access to water or irrigation, the slope, the economic climate, etc. and the local market.
For example, significant land pressure (high demand from buyers) logically leads to an increase in selling prices. Conversely, a market with more sellers than buyers will lead to a possible drop in prices.
SAFER (Société d'Aménagement Foncier et d'Etablissement Rural) controls who can buy plots of agricultural land with the aim of encouraging farmers to set up and preventing speculation. As such, it has a right of pre-emption which enables it to acquire land in place of a purchaser and then return it to a farmer it considers to have priority in view of its missions.
It also has the task of providing transparent information on the agricultural land market and, as such, publishes statistics on average selling prices. These prices are indicative and are not prices that are necessarily binding on sellers and buyers.
One element nevertheless runs counter to the principle of price freedom: pre-emption with price revision.
If SAFER wishes to pre-empt a property in order to allocate it to another candidate, it may propose pre-emption with price revision. Based on local transaction references, if these prices are at least 10% lower than the price agreed between the parties, it then suggests to the seller that it pre-empts at a price revised downwards.
The owner may refuse this proposal and withdraw the property from sale. He or she will then be unable to put the same property up for sale under the initial conditions until the market has evolved significantly.
It is difficult to know whether SAFER uses pre-emption with revision solely to avoid an increase in average prices or whether it really wants to favor another candidate.
The characteristics of the land have a very strong impact on its valuation.
The first element used to determine the value of land is the location and therefore the local market. Indeed, it is the local ratio between supply and demand that determines an average price that moves up or down over time.
Plots of identical quality but located in different regions will therefore necessarily have a different basic market value. The other criteria will only have an upward or downward impact on this average value.
Please note that prices circulating orally are rarely the actual selling prices. Indeed, when a land transaction takes place and a price is known, there is a strong tendency to divide the selling price by the number of hectares to calculate a price per hectare. But people who make this calculation are not always aware of all the elements of the sale and do not deduct from the sale the other elements of the transfer (buildings, equipment, livestock, etc.).
The agronomic value of a plot is defined by several key criteria, which directly influence its productivity, profitability and suitability for a given crop. Here are the main elements to take into account:
1. Factors related to soil quality
a) Soil nature and structure
b) Chemical fertility
c) Drainage and hydromorphy
2. Climatic factors
3. Topographic factors
4. Usage and historical factors
5. Access to resources and infrastructure
6. Pest pressure and biodiversity
7. Economic and regulatory context
The agronomic value of a plot is therefore a combination of physical, biological and economic factors. It must be assessed according to the intended use (field crops, livestock, vines, etc.) and the possibilities for improvement (soil conditioners, drainage, irrigation).
Farmers (for certain types of production) receive economic aid from the European Union through Basic Payment Rights (BPR or BPS). They may also receive aid linked to agro-environmental commitments. A farmer may hold as many BPS as he has hectares. The value of these BPS is linked to the history of the aid received by the farms before this system was introduced.
When a farmer buys land, he wants to acquire as many BPS as hectares. Because without these BPS, he will not be able to benefit from European subsidies.
The presence or absence of these BPS during the sale of agricultural land therefore has a direct impact on the income a farmer can receive and therefore on the value of the land.
If the seller is the holder of the BPS, the valuation of the land will therefore be higher than when the sale is made by an owner who is not the operator. Indeed, the buyer of the land will have to reach an agreement directly with the operator of the land (the tenant) to buy his BPS.
This is one more factor that explains the discount on the valuation of leased land compared to land that is free of any lease.
The price of land depends on many factors. Rental status has a direct impact: land free of any lease is generally worth more than leased land. A discount on the selling price of leased land is observed, which can be zero or up to 30% depending on the region.
This discount is used by owners to reduce the valuation of their land in the context of free transfers (donations, successions, etc.) or for the calculation of the Real Estate Wealth Tax (IFI). The lower value then reduces the tax or the amount of registration fees.
Why is there a discount on the value of leased land?
First and foremost, it is the result of a market that is less favorable to the seller.
When the land is free of lease, there are potentially many buyers: neighboring farmers, private individuals looking for land for specific needs (horses, leisure land, etc.), investors looking for an investment, etc.
When land is leased, given the specific nature of farm tenancy status, there will be far fewer potential buyers: neighboring farmers will probably not be interested if they cannot farm it, and private individuals will not be interested either. There are only 2 types of candidates left: the current tenant and investors seeking a rental return.
The investor seeking a profitable investment will determine his purchase price according to the amount of farm rent he can receive. As these are capped, the valuation of the land will thus be pulled downwards.
There is therefore little competition for the tenant, who can thus benefit from a discount.
And finally, the tenant has a right of pre-emption. This right allows him to substitute himself for a buyer and even to ask the judge to revise the selling price if he considers it too high.
Agricultural land that becomes buildable will naturally see its value rise sharply. The valuation will no longer be per hectare but at a price per square meter of building land. We also observe that land that is likely to change use in a few years' time already sees its value progress upwards.
Proximity to towns, villages and business areas is therefore a criterion that already has an upward influence on land valuation.
However, the Zero Net Artificialization Law (Loi Zéro Artificialisation Nette) very strongly limits the possibility for municipalities and local authorities to build on agricultural land between now and 2030. It will therefore be useful to contact your local planning department to find out if the land is likely to become buildable in the coming years.
Ideally, to evaluate the value of a plot of land, you need to know the local market perfectly and have access to data that is not accessible to everyone, and also know how to interpret it.
SAFER statistics provide trends, but on a broad geographical scale, and are therefore not precise enough.
In our blog, you will find articles presenting the evolution of land and vineyard prices by region and department, but these prices remain indicative averages based on SAFER statistics.
We advise you to contact specialists to determine a relevant selling price. A real estate valuation expert has access to all local transactions and has all the tools and skills to determine a selling price taking into account the characteristics of the plots. Real estate professionals (notaries and specialized agencies) also have a good knowledge of the local land market, which allows them to give you useful advice.
We also have access to all the information and tools needed to carry out an expert appraisal of your agricultural land.
We offer a Land Valuation Study service allowing every owner, tenant or land purchaser to know the local market and transactions over the last 5 years.
We also carry out a personalized cartographic analysis of the plots, which allows us to determine a valuation range for your agricultural land.
This service is less comprehensive than an expert appraisal but is significantly more affordable.
An owner who wishes to sell a leased property must notify the tenant of the proposed sale. The tenant has a right of pre-emption which takes precedence over that of SAFER, among others.
If the price seems too high to the tenant, he can take the matter to the Rural Lease Tribunal (Tribunal Paritaire des Baux Ruraux) to request a judicial appraisal of the selling price.
The judge will appoint a land expert who will carry out a valuation mission. He will base his findings on the characteristics of the plots for sale and on local transactions, and will also apply a discount to take into account the rental status of the plot.
Lessor and tenant will be free to accept or refuse the price set judicially.
In any case, this procedure will take a long time and is often enough to scare off investors who were interested in the land investment. The owner then has only one candidate facing him, the tenant, which will inevitably lead to a downward valuation.
A judicial appraisal can also be carried out at the request of the judge in other situations, such as in the context of a conflict between joint owners.
The asking price of a property is often different from the actual selling price. Negotiation is an integral part of a sale.
At what price should you put it up for sale to obtain a specific price?
In our experience, the margin for negotiation should remain small. Indeed, beyond a certain level, the buyer will not want to make a purchase offer, or even request additional information from the seller.
To stay within an acceptable negotiation margin, we advise you not to exceed your target selling price by more than 10%.
While it is difficult to estimate the value of agricultural land, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms that pull the valuation up or down. We hope we have given you the keys to understanding the valuation methods for a plot of agricultural land.
But ultimately, only a professional will be able to give you a complete and independent evaluation taking into account the specifics of the local market.
Our agricultural land valuation service will also provide you with precise and very useful information to help you determine the true value of your agricultural land.
