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Spring 2017 Property Pull-Out October 2, 2017
farmersweekly.co.nz
Farm sales always slow down over winter but constant rain has dampened them this year. But with the selling season ready for take-off we have details of this tourism and farming enterprise (see page six) and other properties in this special publication and others to follow over the next four weeks.
Waiting for sunshine Alan Williams alan.williams@nzx.com
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NCESSANT rain and sodden paddocks might be the reason for an especially slow rural real estate market over the winter. The market generally slowed over winter when farmers were busy with lambing and calving but in the latest three-month period to the end of August there were 82 fewer sales than in the same period a year earlier, a 21% fall to 311 from 392. “That was quite a big gap,” Real Estate Institute rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said. Record rainfall was the frustration for landowners in many regions as they grappled with soggy soil and pastures under pressure. “In this environment, those considering making their properties available for sale simply do not want outsiders in sight so the reduced volumes
of sales are hardly surprising.” Dairy farm sales were typically slow at this time of year but there had been a fall-off in grazing property deals and negligible activity in arable farm sales because of the conditions and the time of the year. The August conditions had continued into September but there was time for the real estate market to catch up if the sun came out consistently, with most marketing programmes written during October. “I think there will be a few properties out quickly when the sunshine comes,” Peacocke said. The lead-up to the general election had added to the degree of caution. The median price per hectare for all farms sold in the August three-month period was $27,928, a narrow premium on the $27,500 at the corresponding time last year and 2.8% higher than for the three-months to the end of July this year.
On an institute All Farm Index measure there was a 1.5% fall from July to August but year-onyear the gain was 9%. The index adjusted for differences in farm size, location and farming type. For dairy farms over the August three-month period the median price was $37,843 a hectare, up from $36,332 in the July period but down from the $40,469/ha for August last year, for a 6.5% fall. The institute’s Dairy Farm Price Index rose 2.1% for the August period compared to July but fell 5.1% year-on-year. Like the All-farm Index, the dairy index adjusted for farm size and location. Given the conditions, listings were constrained and activity very quiet but there sales in Waikato, Canterbury, and Southland at prices linked closely to farm quality. Finishing farms made up 40% of all sales during the August period and though the median
I think there will be a few properties out quickly when the sunshine comes. Brian Peacocke Real Estate Institute price fell slightly to $30,566ha that was up from $27,208 for August last year, a 12.3% year-on-year gain. Sales in that category had held up reasonably well, Peacocke said. There was solid activity in Northland, Auckland and Southland, supported by medium results in Canterbury and Otago. Though wet in many areas, some South Island areas had reported very good lambing conditions. There were some other redeeming features for the
sector, including the muchimproved payout for the dairy industry with very strong butter prices, strong prices for beef and lamb, a big recovery in venison prices and the continuing low interest rate regime. Despite those factors, farmers and bankers were monitoring overall economic conditions closely, Peacocke said.