A total of 94 farms changed hands during August, almost double the 48 farms sold in the same month last year, led by 51 sales of grazing properties, the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) says.
At 94, the August total farm sales figure is the highest for an August month since 146 in 2008. There were four sales of arable farms during the month, eight dairy farms, 17 finishing farms, four forestry farms, the 51 grazing properties, five horticulture farms and five sales of "special" properties, which REINZ defines as land suitable for poultry farms, racing stables, horse studs, kennels, deer and other specialist livestock.
REINZ said there were 265 farm sales in the three months to the end of August this year, up 73, or 38%, from 192 sales in the three months to August 2010. However, the number of sales was down by 36, or 12%, compared with the three months ended July 2011.
“Sales figures for August continue to reflect the peak seasonal workload for farmers at this time of year,” REINZ rural market spokesman Brian Peacocke said.
“Farmer returns remain solid with an expectation for commodity prices to hold or in some cases firm slightly as the season progresses. We are also seeing enquiry emerging for quality properties with an expectation of lower availability in the early stages of spring, until a clearer indication of pricing has emerged.”
Peacocke said it was encouraging to see a solid increases in the number of sales across most farm types compared with this time last year. He said the median price per hectare for all farms sold in the three months to August 2011 was NZ$15,148 compared with NZ$14,649 in the three months to July 2011 and NZ$16,968 for the three months to August 2010.
The eight August dairy farm sales were at an average value of NZ$26,755 per hectare and NZ$31 per kg of milk solids (MS). The average farm size was 238 hectares with a range of 54 hectares on the West Coast to 444 hectares in Southland. The average production per hectare across all dairy farms sold in August 2011 was 861 kgs of milk solids.
For the three months to August the median sales price per hectare for dairy farms fell NZ$1,800 per hectare to NZ$31,050 across 28 properties, compared with the three months ended July 2011 at NZ$32,854 from 41 properties, and NZ$36,667 from 17 properties for the three months ended August 2010.
See REINZ's full press release here and its rural market statistics here.
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