23 Feb 2012

Farm sales up, but prices easing

12:47 pm on 23 February 2012

Farm sales are continuing to rise, although the median price has eased.

Natest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show there were 135 more sales for the three months ending in January than in the corresponding three months a year ago.

About half of the sales were for grazing properties.

More than 1230 farms were sold in the year to January, the highest number of sales on an annual basis since 2009.

The median price for all farms has fallen slightly on a year ago, to about $21,000 per hectare.

REINZ rural property market spokesman Brian Peacocke says that while demand is rising, buyers remain conservative in their price expectations and are unwilling to overpay.

Sales of lifestyle blocks for the past three months were 25% higher than a year ago and prices were about 10% higher.