A Spatio‐temporal Model of Farmland Values

Despite the fact that data on farm sales are invariably collected over both time and space, previous papers have allowed for the presence of either temporal or spatial relationships in the data, but not both. Some papers have also inadvertently assumed that although farmland values are influenced by prices realised by nearby sales, these sales need not necessarily be comparable in terms of their attributes. Using data on sales of farmland obtained through public auctions in England and Wales, this paper examines the consequences of explicitly allowing for the presence of a spatio‐temporal lag in the estimation of hedonic models of farmland value. The results indicate that spatio‐temporally lagged values of the dependent and independent variables contribute significant additional explanatory power. Accounting for spatio‐temporal relationships appears moreover to somewhat alter the perceived size and statistical significance of key farmland attributes.