English Estates & Farmland Market Review | Autumn Q3 2018
Farmland volumes highest for 10 years
Read the full English Estates & Farmland Market Review Autumn 2018
We said in our last review that 2018 was a year of extremes and that continues to be the case – both in terms of farmland values and the volume of land coming to the market.
The price of arable land over the past nine months has varied between £6,000/acre and £15,000/acre. Meanwhile, we’ve gone from very tight supplies earlier in the year to a position where we’ve seen more land marketed in 2018 than at any point in the past 10 years.
A significant chunk of the land which came forward in Q3 is accounted for by sales by a handful of larger landowners. Seven farms marketed in Q3 account for 28,000 acres alone.
However, even ignoring these, supplies do look to have increased. It is too early to say whether this is a trend or a blip.
Following the publication of the Agriculture Bill, questions are inevitably being asked about its possible impact on long-term values. In our view, there are still so many uncertainties it is too soon to come to any firm conclusion (see impact of Agriculture Bill).
There are so many other factors apart from farming profitability that affect land values that other political and economic issues need to be factored into any kind of prediction.
The one certainty is that it has never been more important to seek advice if you are considering buying or selling farmland.
Read the full English Estates & Farmland Market Review Autumn 2018
