Dairy farm rush lifts price

Photo / Christine Cornege

A rush of dairy property transactions last month has lifted the median farm sale price to the highest level of the year, according to the latest rural property stats released yesterday.

"The 30 dairy farms sold in December is a huge boost for the rural sector and has brought about a significant improvement in the market," said Real Estate Institute of New Zealand rural market spokesman Peter McDonald.

The national median farm sale price rose to $1,150,000 for the three months to December. This was up 15 per cent on the $1 million median price seen in the last three months of 2009. For the equivalent period in 2008, the median was $1.52 million.