Farmland markets & land auction analysis DFG FORLand (FOR 2569)

SP4: Is regulation of agricultural land markets warranted? - A microstructural investigation

A primary concern of existing and proposed regulation of farmland markets has been justified by the perceived risk of farmers being “price out of the market” and a subsequent loss of the “sustainable farming structure”. This risk is suspected to have considerably increased because of new demands for land from investors, urban and industrial sprawl, and renewable energy policies.

In the first funding period of the FORLand research unit (2017-2020), we have focused on land prices as the main outcome variable to assess justifications for new regulation and effects of existing regulation. In phase II (2020-2024), we investigate farmland price formation through negotiations and auctions. Thereby, we consider also other land market outcomes at the heart of land market regulation in Germany, such as the farming structure, farms’ land use, and eco-efficiency of landscapes.

Within this project, we closely cooperate with local land market experts. Since 2017, we support the Committee of Land Valuation Experts in Saxony-Anhalt with analysis of their local land markets and contributed in-depth analyses of price formation in farmland markets for the biannual Real Estate Market Report of Saxony-Anhalt.

Project team:
Prof. Dr. Silke Hüttel, Dr. Stefan Seifert, Lars Isenhardt (University of Göttingen)
Prof. Dr. Axel Werwatz, Tim Finn Hainbach (TU Berlin)

Collaboration partners:
Prof. Dr. Oliver Mußhoff (Uni Göttingen)
Prof. Dr. Martin Odening (HU Berlin)
Prof. Dr. Tobia Lakes, Prof. Dr. Daniel Müller (HU Berlin)
Prof. Dr. Klaus Salhofer (BOKU Wien)
Prof. Dr. Alfons Balmann (IAMO Halle)


DFG Gepris project description (German Research Foundation)
Project Homepage