Rural land values up: ... but landholders face rising debt

摘要

RURAL property prices have peaked, leaving rural landholders with substan - tial increases in land val- ues but twice the debt, according to Australian Bureau of Agriculture Resource Economics (ABARE) figures. From 1999 to 2004, spurred on by a risingproperty market and low interest rates, farmers almost doubled their debt levels as they scrambled to buy more land and upgrade equipment. The rural sector's largest lender, National Australia Bank, holds an 8 billion dollar loan book. More than 1 billion dollar worth of cattle stations are estimated to have changed hands in Queensland in 2004, led by the disposal of 20 stations from the Stanbroke Pastoral Company portfolio.