Pennsylvania Farmland Prices as a Function of Land Quality and Distance from Metropolitan Areas

Data on 268 farm sales in 10 counties throughout Pennsylvania in 1977 were analyzed using a hedonic price model. Problems associated with the influence of parcel size and buildings on per acre land values appear to have been overcome. Proximity of farms to metropolitan centers and the quantities of different types of land on a farm were important explanatory variables. Values per acre were computed showing the effects of those variables on price. Values for nontillable land, high productivity tillable land, and land suitable for on-site sewage disposal tended to cluster within a $65G-$700 price range per acre at 85 miles from the nearest SMSA.