Agricultural real estate transfers

Background

Once a year, the Alberta government releases reports detailing annual Alberta agricultural real estate sales. The reports detail the value, acreage and number of lands transfers by municipality, sorted by the Canada Land Inventory (C.L.I.) class of the real estate transferred.

The average value for All Classes is weighted by the number of acres transacted in each C.L.I. Class.

The information collected is not guaranteed to include all transacted sales, nor is it intended to constitute an appraisal or opinion of value for a specific parcel of land. A more comprehensive appraisal of a particular piece of land should be performed in order to determine the actual market price. Changing market conditions can have immediate impacts on land values.

Rating system

The C.L.I. rating system provides an indication of the agricultural capability of land. The C.L.I. class for each parcel of land is determined by the dominant C.L.I. class for the parcel, usually a quarter-section of land. Using this rating system allows comparisons of the real estate value of lands of similar productive capability.

Land class definitions

The land classes used in these reports are:

Class 1 – Soils with no significant limitations in use for crops.
Class 2 – Soils with moderate limitations that restrict the range of crops or require moderate conservation practices.
Class 3 – Soils with moderately severe limitations that restrict the range of crops or require special conservation practices.
Class 4 – Soils with severe limitations that restrict the range of crops or require special conservation practices or both.
Class 5 – Soils that are unsuitable for annual cultivation. These soils could be improved for the production of perennial forages or pasture.
Class 6 – Soils that have some natural grazing potential but where improvement practices are not feasible.
Other – Soils that have no capability for arable culture or permanent pasture, soils that are organic and frequently found in the wooded regions of the province and soils that could not be assigned a C.L.I. class because of a lack of a suitable map.