English farmland price reach all time high

English farmland prices have reached an all time high as demand continues to outstrip supply and the market’s upward trajectory continues, the latest report shows.
Farmland prices in England rose by 4% in the first quarter of 2011 to an all time high of
£7,900 per acre, showing the strength of the market compared with others, like the housing
market, which is still weak, the report from Smiths Gore shows.
At the end of the first quarter, bare land values averaged £5,600 per acre, up 5% on the
previous quarter, whilst equipped land averaged £8,600 per acre, up 4% and another all time
high. Both bare and equipped land values have now recovered from the dip which followed the peak of the market in 2008.
‘Prices are still rising due to strong demand, from both farmer and non-farmer buyers, and the continuing low supply of land for sale,’ said Giles Wordsworth, head of Farm Agency at Smiths Gore.
Just over 16,000 acres were marketed in January to March, the same as last year. But the
constricted supply is more obvious when you look at the amount for sale in the six autumn and winter months.
‘You also appreciate just how small the market is when you look at individual regions, let
alone counties. There have been only two blocks of land over 50 acres for sale in the whole of the North East since Christmas,’ said Jason Beedell, head of research at Smiths Gore.

Some 92 farms and parcels of land over 50 acres were marketed in the first quarter of 2011. This is comparable with the same period last year of 86 farms and 48% more than during the equivalent period of 2009.
The report also shows that 16,100 acres were marketed in the first quarter of 2011, which is equal to the first quarter of 2010, and more than the first quarter of 2009 when 13,700 acres were for sale.
In the equipped farms sector, that is farms with buildings, some 60 equipped farms were marketed in the first three months of 2011, compared with 56 in the same period in 2010.
There was slightly less land marketed at 11,300 acres in the first quarter of 2011 compared with 2010 at 11,700. The area marketed was also comparable with the first quarter of 2009 when 11,100 acres were brought to market.
The average unit size in the first quarter of 2011 was 188 acres, smaller than the 208 acre average for 2010. In the bare land sector there were 32 parcels marketed in the first quarter of 2011, which is more than the same period in 2010 at 30 properties. Some 4,900 acres were marketed in the first quarter of 2011, 9% more than in 2010 at 4,500 acres.

UK prime country house market sees prices rise in first quarter of 2011

Prices of UK prime country houses rose in the first quarter of 2011 by 0.5%, partially reversing some of the prices falls in the second half of 2010, the figures published today (Tuesday March 29) show.


With prices of prime London property having risen by 30% since March 2009, buyers coming out of the capital are beginning to have an effect on the prices of the best country properties, according to the Knight Frank Prime Country House Index covering the first three months of 2011.
It also shows that price growth in the country is still not evenly spread, with slight falls recorded in the North and Scotland, and the strongest growth, 1% and 1.2% respectively, recorded in the South East and the South West of England.
With low stock volumes and ongoing strong interest from London based buyers, further price growth in the counties around London should be expected over the spring and summer.
‘The UK housing market has been experiencing difficult conditions since the middle of last year, and the prime country house market did not escape this trend. Prices fell in the second half of 2010 across most regions,’ said Liam Bailey, head of residential research at Knight Frank.
‘However, the revival in the London market since the autumn has begun to filter through to the country house market. With foreign buyers happily buying over 50% of central London £2 million plus properties, some of these vendors are now looking to move into the country house market,’ he explained.
‘For London buyers, moving to the country at the current time makes a lot of sense. Prices in London are 30% higher then they were in March 2009; in the country prices are up only 7% over the same period. In short, this means that someone selling in London and moving to the country has more than 20% additional spending power now compared to two years ago,’ he added.
He believes that while we ought not to expect rapid price growth from this point, it would seem fair to assume that the best country house properties will see further rises over the next few months.
According to Rupert Sweeting, head of the country department at Knight Frank, there is an imbalance of supply and demand in the prime country property market and a shortage of supply is becoming quite acute in some areas such as the Cotswolds and Oxfordshire.
‘We are confident that prime houses that are sensibly priced will attract considerable interest. Price rises for the best of the best are likely to occur and those vendors who go to the market now will be well rewarded,’ he said.
  ‘The ripple effect from London is spreading, albeit very slowly. Prices within a two hour radius of London are creeping up, however, more than two hours away from the capital it is not so straightforward. Buyers from London will get more bang for their buck the further they go from London,’ he added.