The Farmers Mart Apr/May 2014 - Issue 33 | Page 51

PROPERTY FARM LAND MARKET UPDATE By Andrew Black, Director, Savills (UK) Limited You would be forgiven for thinking that my articles are always the same, reporting lack of volume and increased land prices. However whilst the headline summary remains similar there continue to be changes within the marketplace itself. The late marketing season last year led to many of the autumn sales being concluded during the first quarter of this year, but in terms of new activity it was a quiet start. Publicly 13,000 acres of farmland were advertised across GB which was just a 1% increase on the same period of 2013. This masked regional variation with increased volume in Scotland and the East of England but a 14% reduction in the North of England with only 17,064 acres and nine units recorded. Our Farmland Value Survey recorded a rise in average prime arable farmland of 1.5% during the first quarter however average values continue to mask the diversity in the market with sales achieved at values in excess of £12,000 for the right farm and half that level for the poorer commercial arable land. This spring poorer quality land has performed most strongly having been almost static last year which may be as a result of increased optimism within the dairy sector. Savills research indicates that the gap between the price paid for best quality land and poorer quality land is the widest it has ever been which reflects the competitive demand for the best commercial land and farms. This is no surprise because shortage of supply has meant that potential purchasers for fully equipped farms have to compete on a national basis for the few farms that are offered leading to premium prices being paid. On a local level for bare land the market is largely determined by the local demand which can be very variable and To read more, visit www.farmers-mart.co.uk Andrew Black Savills (UK) Ltd, 13 – 15 Micklegate, York YO1 6JH MRICS FAAV Tel: [phone] M: 07967 555697 E: [email protected] T: 01904 617800 F: 01904 617801 www.savills.com [email protected] is leading to a wide variation in prices being achieved even within relatively local areas. An informal survey in Yorkshire suggested that farmers do not want to s