Listen: Interest grows in forestry property market

PGG Wrightson Real Estate GM, Peter Newbold. Photo / Supplied

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Peter Newbold says he has noticed some "interesting" developments in the burgeoning forestry market over the last "six to eight weeks" as more sheep and beef land is considered for conversion to trees.

The GM of PGG Wrightson Real Estate told The Country's Jamie Mackay that interest is growing in a specific type of land.

"The interesting thing at the moment is that the quality they're looking for is up on the past ... location becomes important, access to ports, rainfall, all those things".

Listen below:

"Definitely what they're doing is they're honing in on better quality land and they're prepared to pay more money that they were traditionally."

Newbold warned that this trend may have an unfavourable outcome for pastoral farming.

"You've got to be careful in this space that it doesn't gain too much momentum because we're going to lose a lot of good pasture."

Also in today's interview: Newbold takes his month look at the rural property market which sees horticulture performing strongly and interest in grazing properties leading to positivity in the sheep and beef sector. It's a different story for dairy however, with M. bovis continuing to cause buyer caution.