BANK pressure and capitalised interest is behind an increase in listings for Western District properties.
That's according to land valuer Sam Paton, Agribusiness Valuations Australia, who said financiers had begun to make their move after two poor seasons in the area.
"The banks held off for a while, but if you can't service your interest, the bank is going to say you need to sell your asset to service the debt or we'll have to sell your property," he said.
Estate agents within a 100 kilometre radius of Hamilton - Elders, Charles Stewart, Southern Grampians, Ray White, Kerr & Co and Hamilton Real Estate - have almost 21,000 hectares available for sale.
Mr Paton said low interest rates and a good spring in the area also encouraged more properties to enter the market.
"The cost of money is good, so there's no impingement to people looking to buy. Perhaps some people are thinking 'this is as good as it's going to get for a while'," he said.
"People are not waiting for some Arabian investment firm to come and buy their property."
Land values had decreased by 15 per cent from 2010, after sustaining relatively high levels before and during the global financial crisis, according to Mr Paton.
Michael Kerr, Kerr & Co Hamilton, said there was more land available for sale within 100km of Hamilton than he had seen since the 1970s.
He said prices for livestock carriers could not continue, otherwise he envisaged more properties being offered for sale.
"Sheep producers are receiving prices they had 10-15 years ago and the beef job is similar. Everyone in livestock is making little to no money."
Rob Rickard, Elders Mortlake, has four properties totalling 5621ha in his portfolio and said these large blocks combined to distort the overall figures.
Mr Rickard said there were no more properties listed for sale this spring, and described it as a typical spring for Elders in south-west Victoria.
He said land values were also comparable to last year, as things has been "reasonably steady over this part of the State during the past 12 months".
Michael Stewart, Charles Stewart & Co Hamilton, said the number and size of listings was "completely normal" and in-line with what you would expect for this time of year.
Mr Stewart couldn't provide Stock & Land any comparative figures, but said the "general feeling was there's a similar amount of properties on the market as last spring".
David Peardon, Elders Hamilton, said a lot of sellers wanted to change their farming habits, which resulted in them selling a property.
"In the last couple of years there hasn't been a lot of country sold, people have been pessimistic," he said.
"But we're starting to see a favourable response at last. People are more confident. Commodity prices are looking better and we've had a sizeable interest in all of our portfolios."
