Kiwifruit rebound boosts land values

Horticulture property sales are receiving a summer boost as kiwifruit prices return to near pre-PSA levels.

Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures show the average price per hectare of horticultural properties sold in the three months to January was $205,634, compared with $202,308 in the three months to the end of December.

That compares with $132,474 a hectare in the three months to January last year and $89,047 a hectare in the three months to January 2013.

Fifty-one horticulture properties sold during the three months ended January compared with 36 in the three months to last January.

REINZ believes the strong rise in prices has been driven by the recovery of the kiwifruit industry's fortunes.

The figures show a strong market for kiwifruit properties in the Bay of Plenty and sale prices for gold and green orchards close to the record levels of the pre-PSA era.

However, dairy farm prices have not fared as well. The REINZ dairy farm price index fell by 8.6 per cent in the three months to January compared with the three months to December, from 2157.6 to 1971.0. Compared with January last year the index rose by 4.5 per cent. The index adjusts for differences in farm size and location compared to the median price a hectare, which does not adjust for these factors.

The median sales price per hectare for dairy farms was $40,742 for the three months ended January compared with $41,227 for the three months ended December and $36,509 for the three months ended last January.

REINZ said compared with the past three months dairy farm sales in the Waikato were heavily reduced.

Overall 455 farms sold in the three months to end of January, compared with 486 farm sales for the three months ended December, down 6.4 per cent. This was also down on the three months to the end of last January when 564 farms sold.

The median price a hectare for all farms sold in the three months to January was $27,997 compared with $22,664 recorded for three months ended last January -- up 23.6 per cent. However, the median price per hectare fell 2.7 per cent compared with December.

REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said the buoyancy of the spring was replaced by a slowdown in the summer holiday season and that was reflected in sales, which slowed considerably, in some categories by 50 per cent.

The lifestyle property market saw a 5.4 per cent lift in with 1623 sales recorded in the three months to January 2015 compared to 1539 sales in the three months to January 2014.

The national median price fell by $6000 from $535,000 for the three months to January last year to $529,000 for the three months to January 2015.

However, the median price for lifestyle blocks in Auckland rose $115,000 -- up 13.5 per cent -- from $850,000 for the three months to last January to $965,000 for the three months to January 2015, a record median price.