Farm sales down by 11% compared to a year ago but prices up by a third overall

The rural property market is experiencing mixed fortunes with fewer properties being sold than a year ago, but prices are up.

According to the latest rural sales figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, 432 farms were sold in the three months to the end of April this year, compared to 486 in the same period of last year, down 11%.

However farm prices remain firm, with the REINZ All Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in the mix of properties sold by farm types, size and location, up a whopping 32.7% in the three months to April compared to a year earlier.

The dairy sector led the way, with 81 dairy farms selling at an median price per hectare of $37,060, compared with 117 sales at $32,170 per hectare in the same period of last year.

The REINZ Diary Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in the mix of properties sold by size and location, was up 11%.

Finishing farm sales were up, with 134 sales in the three months to April compared to 124 compared to the same period of last year.

However their median price per hectare was slightly lower at $35,415 compared to $36,040 a year earlier.

Grazing farm sales were slightly lower with 121 sales in the three months to April compared to 126 a year earlier, while the median price per hectare was up at $13,820 compared to $11,015.

There were just 37 horticultural property sales in the three months to April this year, down from 49 in the same period of last year. Prices for horticultural properties were up strongly with a median price per hectare of $697,820, up 58% compared to a year earlier.

Lifestyle block sales have declined substantially from where they were a year ago.

In the three months to April, 1710 lifestyle properties were sold, down 36% compared to the same period of last year. The median selling price was $1,087,500, up 24%.

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