Two Centuries of Farmland Prices in England

The dissemination of robust real estate data helps to improve market efficiency. Sound investment analysis requires long series to form a long-term view but, whilst this has been available for the commercial sector, the same has not been true for agricultural land. Comparable series on the long-term market position of the farmland in England are fragmented. The current paper navigates the methodological complexities involved in rectifying the land price information deficiency. The study employs chain-linking approach to construct a long-term farmland series for England. It then adjusts series for inflation to examine real land market returns. The constructed 200 year series of English farm land prices performance tightens analysis and enhances decision making.