Regions

Land in Rocha

Rocha recorded the largest price increase of any Uruguayan department in 2025. Two separate groups of buyers are competing for the same ground.

Avg price 2025 3,839 USD/haTraded 2025 19,295 haLand use Rice, extensive cattle, coastal use

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.

Butiá palm grovebutiacero · CC BY-SA 3.0

Traded 202519,295ha

LocationEast, Atlantic coast

Land useRice, extensive cattle, coastal use

The price

Rocha averaged USD 3,839 per hectare in 2025, against USD 3,139 in 2024. That is a 22.3 % rise, the largest in the country, and it came on 145 contracts, so the market behind it is well evidenced.

Two demands on one piece of ground

The first driver is agricultural. Rocha forms part of the rice belt in the Laguna Merín basin, one of South America's highest-yielding rice regions, with extensive cattle on the grassland between.

The second driver is the coast. Rocha has Uruguay's least developed Atlantic shoreline, from La Paloma and La Pedrera to Cabo Polonio and Punta del Diablo. Demand for land near the coast comes from an entirely different motive, but meets the same limited supply.

What to check

A large share of the department is protected. The Bañados del Este are a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and wetlands carry use restrictions. In Rocha, what may be done with which hectare is not a footnote but the core of pre-purchase diligence.

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
Peak3,980 2015
Low394 2001

Rocha: 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	540		23,309	162
2001	394	−27 %	44,195	171
2002	467	+18.5 %	22,178	141
2003	494	+5.8 %	31,143	163
2004	626	+26.7 %	35,298	191
2005	619	−1.1 %	60,708	257
2006	1,086	+75.4 %	42,933	253
2007	1,348	+24.1 %	37,514	178
2008	1,537	+14 %	38,306	236
2009	3,561	+131.7 %	13,955	125
2010	2,650	−25.6 %	29,255	197
2011	3,757	+41.8 %	22,168	155
2012	3,327	−11.4 %	19,833	134
2013	2,934	−11.8 %	16,298	90
2014	3,716	+26.7 %	6,776	75
2015	3,980	+7.1 %	15,542	68
2016	2,783	−30.1 %	3,992	48
2017	3,326	+19.5 %	5,162	67
2018	2,690	−19.1 %	10,702	45
2019	2,715	+0.9 %	7,356	59
2020	3,041	+12 %	4,754	60
2021	2,588	−14.9 %	19,026	88
2022	3,487	+34.7 %	13,293	102
2023	2,940	−15.7 %	25,492	95
2024	3,139	+6.8 %	15,838	110
2025	3,839	+22.3 %	19,295	145

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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