Photo: RNZ / Susan Murray
Waikato dairy farmer Murray Steele thought the time had come to sell up and move from his 200 hectare Roto-orangi dairy farm.
"I've farmed since I left school and (have had) two hip replacements and it's time to do a few things with the family and a bit more travelling," he says.
Murray Steele Photo: Supplied
So he put the family farm on the market last spring.
It hasn't sold.
There was an insulting offer, he says.
"We don't need to give it away."
The rural spokesperson for the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand Brian Peacocke says the number of dairy farm sales has plummeted and the value of dairy farming land has also dropped.
"We're talking about 12 sales a month for New Zealand as opposed to anywhere between 30 and 40 a month in months gone by."
Median prices have dropped too from $45,000 to $50,000 a hectare to $38,000 now.
Brian says farms valued at more than $10 million are particularly hard to sell. He says most New Zealanders can't afford to buy them and overseas buyers are not gaining approval from the Overseas Investment Office.
Banks too are tightening lending criteria and are insisting on higher levels of equity, he says.
Brian Peacocke Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
