The number of farms being sold is well down on last year but prices are higher.
The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) recorded 265 farm sales in the three months to the end of August, down 18% on the same period of last year.
Conversely the REINZ All Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in the mix of farms sold by size, type and location, was up 4.4% compared to a year ago.
Perhaps surprisingly, prices for dairy farms were up by even more, with the REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index up 8.0% year-on-year.
On an annual basis, 1349 farms of all types were sold in the year to August, which was down 7.9% on the previous 12 months.
The biggest decline was in the dairy sector with dairy farm sales down by 38.2% in the year to August compared to a year earlier, followed by Arable farms -13.7%, finishing farms -8.6% and grazing farms -1.1%.
The median price per hectare for all farms sold in the three months to August was $25,346, up 28.1% compared to the same period of last year.
"Beef, lamb and venison prices continue at strong levels, albeit venison is easing currently, horticulture looks set for another bonanza, and the dairy processors claim a solid level of pricing for the 2019/20 season," REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said.
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