Farm sales and prices inch down in three months to June on year

Monday 17th July 2017

The number of farms sold in the three months inched down on the year as did the median price per hectare for all farms, pointing to a softening tone in the rural real estate market, the Real Estate Institute said.

There were 459 sales in the year ended June 2017, 13 fewer than the same period a year earlier, or a decline of 2.8 percent. The median price per hectare for all farms sold in the three months to June 2017 was $25,992 versus $26,361 in the same period a year earlier, a decline of 1.4 percent.

Eight regions recorded increases in sales volumes on the year in the three months ended June. Otago recorded the largest increase in sales, with 13 more sales, followed by Gisborne where nine more farms were sold.

The Real Estate Institute's All Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in farm size, location and farming type, fell 2.5 percent in the three months to June compared with the three months to May. It did not provide comparison figures for the three months to June 2016.

Regarding dairy farms, the Real Estate Institute noted that prices were slightly higher at $34,789 per hectare compared to $32,615 per hectare in the three months ended June 2016. Overall, the median price per hectare for dairy farms has risen 6.7 percent over the past 12 months as milk prices improve. On a price per kilo of milk solids basis, the median sales price was $33.45 per kilo of milk solids in the three months to June versus $30.40 per kilo in the three months ended June 2016, a rise of 10 percent.

Prices for grazing farms, however, eased. In the three months ended June, the median sales price per hectare for grazing farms was $10,093 compared to $16,604 in the three months ended June 2016. The median price per hectare for grazing farms has fallen 39.2 percent over the past 12 months.

Horticulture farms were also under some pressure. In the three months to June, the median sales price per hectare was $159,161 compared to $223,165 in the three months to June 2016. The median price per hectare for horticulture farms has fallen 28.7 percent over the past 12 months, Reinz said.

(BusinessDesk)

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