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According to Farm Credit Canada, Alberta’s cultivated farmland values increased 11.4% in 2025 after gains of 7.1% in 2024 and 6.5% in 2023,. The increases were driven by strong demand and limited supply. In Southern Alberta, the increasing overlap between dryland and irrigated farming systems in addition to irrigation districts operating at capacity – drove irrigated land values up 11.3% and contributed to a 16.4% increase in adjacent dryland values,. This has narrowed the gap between the two land types. Pastureland values had modest increases of 3.5%, supported by strong cattle prices but tempered by limited sales activity and mixed-use influences.

Farmland values continued the long-term trend of increasing in 2023. This has raised land affordability challenges for farm operations. Generally, the cost to rent farmland is lower than financing, thus renting is a worthwhile alternative to explore in support of cash flow.  Often when established farmers retire, they want to remain in their homestead but no longer want to farm the land. When land I s inherited family often maintain ownership but live elsewhere and have no interest in working the land. While there are obvious advantages of land ownership the western provinces have seen a per acre increase in profitability for renting vs buying the land.

Rent to Price (RP) ratio ( %)   =    Rent Rate Per Acre  /  Value per acre

2017 has so far been a stronger year for real estate than 2016. Average overall sale prices have increased. This time last year there were 22 sales with an average sale price of $241,045. So far in 2017 there have been 28 sales with an average price of $262,741. Brooks has 70 homes for sale on the open market right now as well as many homes being sold privately.

Average sale price for in Brooks for the first 9 months of 2016 was $248,800 which was 3.1% lower than the same time last year. There has also been a reduction in overall sales. The first 9 months in 2016 had 77 sales as opposed to 95 sales for the first 9 months of 2015. Brooks currently has 88 houses on the market.

The average value of Alberta farmland increased 11.6% in 2015, following gains of 8.8% in 2014 and 12.9% in 2013. Values in the province have continued to climb since 1993. The majority of the province experienced a steady increase in farmland values throughout the year. The continued positive outlook on agriculture resulted in many producers purchasing land for expansion or to support succession planning. Agricultural land price increases were observed in northern, eastern and southern portions of the province, largely due to strong pulse crop prices. Continued strength in beef prices resulted in increased demand for land used for grazing in cattle producing areas as well. There were localized areas that started to reflect the impact of the downturn in the resource sector or appeared to have reached the point where the demand for cultivated land lessened.

The Realtors Association of Alberta has seen steady real estate activity but lower sale prices. For the first quarter of 2015 21 properties sold, for the first quarter of 2016 a total of 21 properties sold in Brooks. The average sale prices for Brooks were 9.1% lower in comparison to the same time in 2015. Brooks has 71 houses on the market at present.

The Realtors Association of Alberta has seen a large drop in real estate activity with 407 sales; a decrease of 26.3% from the 552 sales in 2014. This overall number includes Brooks, Drumheller, County of Newell and nearby areas. The average sale price for homes in Brooks was 4.9% lower in 2015 than it was in 2014. Brooks presently has 53 homes on the market. In 2015 there were 16 houses that sold above $350,000 and 6 sales over $400,000. Real estate has slowed in response to a downturn in Alberta oil and gas industry. Values have not decreased significantly in 2015 but activity has slowed a lot.

The Realtors Association of Alberta has seen less Real Estate activity with a drop in the number of overall sales from 440 sales for the first nine months in 2014 to 323 for the first nine months in 2015. This includes Drumheller, Hanna, County of Newell and areas covered by board members. Real estate has slowed in response to the low oil prices and a downturn in Alberta oil and gas industry. The average sale for a pre-owned single family home average 257,000 which is a 6.3% drop in average sale price for 2014.

Alberta farmland values increased an average of 8.8% in 2014, following gains of 12.9% in 2013 and 13.3% in 2012. Values in the province have continued to climb since 1993.In southern Alberta, demand for irrigated land remained strong, especially from specialty crop producers looking to expand contracts. Traditional crop producers sought to purchase irrigated land due to the higher commodity prices seen in the first half of 2014. Dry land producers also contributed to a steady demand for farmland due to higher commodity prices and general optimism in the area.Strong beef prices have increased the demand for pasture in the more
traditional beef areas throughout the province. This was especially prevalent in the central to northern east portions of the province.

The first three months of 2015 there have been 20 single family home sales with an overall overage of $274,150. This is up 5.3% from this time last year. There are a total of 54 houses on the market. Average days on market for 2015 has been 71 days. With oil prices around $50 dollars per barrel we may see a softening of the market in the Brooks area.