26 Aug 2014

Farm sales still ahead of 2013

7:00 am on 26 August 2014

Farm sales so far this year are still running well ahead of last year, although they have run into the usual seasonal slow-down.

Latest figures from the Real Estate Institute shows there were 74 more farms sold in the three months ending in July than for the same period last year and sales for the year so far are running 25 percent ahead of last year, but are down a bit on the previous three months.

The median price of $26,680 a hectare for farms sold during the past three months was 29.1 percent higher than last year.

Grazing and finishing properties made up most of the latest farm sales.

Sales of dairy farms have just about ground to a halt, because dairy farmers are at their their busiest time of year right now, with calving and the start of the new milking season.

But the Real Estate Institute said there was still reasonable interest in beef farms in the north, dairy support properties through the centre of the country, and for sheep, beef and dairy support farms in the lower South Island.

Sales in the horticulture sector have also been steady.

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