CAPTURING THE FARMLAND MARKET DATA IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

Abstract

The capital farmland market in the Republic of Macedonia is underperforming and lacks of transparency. The limited availability for pricing information on farmland hinders the establishment of a functioning and transparent land market. Even though farmland markets typically exhibit a low rate of transactions, the land price may vary due to different factors. Hence, the prime aim is to detect initial records on the farmland prices, and to explain the influence of the factors that may affect the farmland price. The data collection is based on the desk and field research methods. The desk research was based on data reported in the Official Gazzetes of the RM during the period from January to December 2013, resulting in 1100 observations on the price of arable land and gardens. The field survey covered 244 respondents and was conducted by using the focus group approach during February 2014. The questionnaire included two points for discussion: 1) The lowest, mid and the highest price of the landmark i.e. the hypothetical property, and 2) The factors that influence the price. The results show that there are differences in the observed farmland prices resulting from the desk and field research. The average farmland price resulting from the desk research is 1 €/m2, while the one from the field survey is 1.53 €/m2. However, there are differences in the prices between regions as well, due to different factors affecting the farmland price. Density showed the strongest positive correlation with the farmland price, meaning that higher density increases the price, and vice versa. Other factors influence the farmland price as well. These initial results shall serve as a basis for future development of permanent records on the farmland price data, which are necessary to persuade timely information on the farmland market value and ease the farmland transactions.