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Farm sale prices remain firm but lifestyle blocks surge - REINZ

Rural News
Farm sale prices remain firm but lifestyle blocks surge - REINZ

There was slight drop in the number of farms sold in the three months to April but an increase in the median sale price, according to the Real Estate Institute of NZ.

There was also a big increase in sales of lifestyle blocks, with their median prices hitting a new high.

REINZ said 485 farms were sold in the three months to April, which was down 2.6%, compared with the same period last year.

In the 12 months to April, 1798 farms were sold, down 2.8% compared to the preceding 12 months.

The median price per hectare of all farms sold in the three months to April was $28,668, which was up 2.5%  compared to the three months to March and up a whopping 16.7% compared to the same period last year.

The REINZ All Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in farm size, location and farming type, was up 1.9% compared to the three months to March and up 0.8% compared to a year ago.

Dairy farm prices continued to rise and the median price per hectare was $38,802 in the three months to April compared with $37,761 in the three months to March and $34,615 in the three months to April last year.

The REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index was up 6.9% for the month and 15.5% for the year.

Another feature of the market was the ongoing strength in the sale of horticultural properties, primarily led by kiwifruit orchards as the industry's fortunes rebound from earlier PSA outbreaks.

Seventy three horticultural properties were sold in the three months to April, compared with 56 in the three months to March and 48 in the 12 months  to April last year.

The median selling price per hectare for horticultural properties was $266,883 in the three months to April compared to $175,462 for the same period last year and $118,119 in the same period of 2013.

The market for lifestyle blocks was also buoyant, with 1940 lifestyle properties changing hands in the three months to April compared with 1711 in the three months to March and 1707 in the three months to April last year (+13.7%).

The national median price hit an all time high of $552,500, up 8.3% compared to a year ago.

In Auckland the median price for lifestyle blocks came in exactly at $1 million after sitting at $980,000 for the three months to March and $860,000 for the three months to April last year, which means it has increased by $140,000 (16.3%) in the last year.

The median price of lifestyle properties has also increased sharply in Nelson, where it was $635,000 in the 12 months to April, compared to $605,000 in the 12 months to March and $482,000 in the 12 months to April last year.

That means it has risen by $152,500 (32%) in the last 12 months.

To read the REINZ's full rural Market Report, with analysis of sales by farm types and regions, click on the following link: 

The chart below tracks the sale of lifestyle blocks in each region of the country:

Lifestyle volumes sold - REINZ

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