Regions

Farmland in Cerro Largo

Cerro Largo is border country. That shapes more than the culture here; it shapes how prices form.

Avg price 2025 3,194 USD/haTraded 2025 20,572 haLand use Extensive cattle, rice, forestry

USD per hectare · DIEA 2025Spread, most to least expensive department 4.2×

National average 4,178

Colonia9,707+19.7 %Soriano7,964−7.6 %San José6,842+5.1 %Canelones6,492−5.7 %Maldonado5,647−2.0 %Florida5,265+12.3 %Río Negro5,138−9.0 %Flores4,667−11.7 %Durazno4,032−17.5 %Rocha3,839+22.3 %Lavalleja3,736+5.0 %Treinta y Tres3,384+6.9 %

Cerro Largo3,194−10.7 %

Rivera3,074−10.5 %Paysandú3,047−17.6 %Salto2,886+4.0 %Tacuarembó2,720−10.7 %Artigas2,300−0.5 %

Bar length and order follow the official annual figures. Percentage: change against 2024.

Grassland at duskViviana de Armas · CC BY-SA 3.0

Traded 202520,572ha

LocationNortheast, Brazilian border

Land useExtensive cattle, rice, forestry

The price

The 2025 average was USD 3,194 per hectare, down 10.7 % year on year and about a quarter below the national figure. 20,572 hectares traded across 111 contracts, so the market has real depth.

What the border does

Melo lies under 90 kilometres from Río Branco and the Brazilian frontier. Brazilian buyers and tenants have long been active in Cerro Largo, which partly couples local demand to the neighbouring economy and its exchange rate.

For a European buyer that is an extra variable rather than a warning. You simply need to know it: when the real weakens against the dollar, part of the market's willingness to pay shifts without anything having changed inside Uruguay.

Land use

Traditionally Cerro Largo is cattle country on extensive grassland. Recent years added rice on the flatter ground towards Laguna Merín, and planted forestry. A mean parcel of 185 hectares describes a market trading operating units, not smallholdings.

Sources

DIEA / MGAP: Serie „Precio de la Tierra" (Compraventas) ↗

Figures verified on 2026-07-27

Information is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice. Prices shown are averages from official statistics, not valuations of individual properties.

The series for this department

Prices actually paid per hectare, area traded and the number of contracts of sale, year by year.

Since2000
Peak4,079 2014
Low279 2003

Cerro Largo: Prices actually paid per hectare, area traded and the number of contracts of sale, year by year.
Year	USD/ha	Change	Hectares traded	Contracts
2000	391		28,588	125
2001	406	+3.8 %	44,966	153
2002	303	−25.4 %	17,922	125
2003	279	−7.9 %	39,809	142
2004	416	+49.1 %	43,252	195
2005	459	+10.3 %	98,745	220
2006	885	+92.8 %	98,236	283
2007	1,092	+23.4 %	67,362	208
2008	2,142	+96.2 %	77,836	219
2009	1,778	−17 %	20,016	121
2010	1,403	−21.1 %	25,124	167
2011	2,047	+45.9 %	32,860	162
2012	2,652	+29.6 %	30,056	118
2013	2,785	+5 %	28,589	130
2014	4,079	+46.5 %	18,087	66
2015	2,708	−33.6 %	18,156	63
2016	2,958	+9.2 %	10,995	43
2017	3,478	+17.6 %	27,490	60
2018	2,394	−31.2 %	8,265	63
2019	2,805	+17.2 %	32,246	51
2020	1,950	−30.5 %	6,142	45
2021	2,383	+22.2 %	11,726	55
2022	2,770	+16.2 %	19,637	86
2023	2,474	−10.7 %	16,494	84
2024	3,577	+44.6 %	36,561	117
2025	3,194	−10.7 %	20,572	111

Source: DIEA / MGAP, "Precio de la Tierra" series. Change against the previous year, computed from the same figures. Reconciled on 2026-07-27

The market report

Ten pages: what land costs in each of the 18 departments, what leasing yields, what a purchase adds on top, and the rules under which a foreigner may buy at all. Every figure with a source and a verification date.

Prices for all 18 departments, from registered contracts of sale
Gross yield from the official lease and price series, unvarnished
Transaction costs with rates, and what they come to on an average parcel
The ceilings in Canada and Argentina, with the statutes behind them

You receive the report immediately as a PDF. We also write when DIEA publishes new figures, normally twice a year. No advertising, never sold on, unsubscribe in every message.

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