Rural property is set for a strong spring selling season on the back of low interest rates and strong cattle and cotton prices. A number of high-profile sales of major rural holdings could add fuel to the fire.

Record low interest rates, strong rural commodity prices, especially cattle and cotton prices, and good seasons in the eastern states are fuelling speculation that rural property will be in hot demand this spring.

The Free Trade Agreement could also improve investor interest as it stimulates investment and opens markets.

The weakness in the Australian dollar will help agricultural commodity exporters, putting dollars in the pockets of farmers who may wish to increase their holdings in a market where supply could be tightening.

The pending sale of Australia’s largest private land holding, S Kidman and Co, could inject a degree of exuberance into the market.

There have already been strong sales of large agricultural holdings. China’s Xingfa Ma acquired Wollogorang and Wentworth cattle stations in the Northern Territory for $47 million. And Chinese supermarket giant Dashang Group has bought a Hunter Valley cattle station for $45 million. Vaucluse, an historic Tasmanian cropping and grazing property was recently sold to US food and agriculture conglomerate, Cargill, for $20 million.

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