Winter blamed for slowdown

The 31 Northland grazing units sold for the three months ended July 31 made a median price of $9922/ha. The median price per hectare for grazing farms has fallen 26.4 per cent over the past 12 months.

Forty-nine Northland farm sales were recorded for the three months ended July 31 - four dairy farms, 31 grazing units, eight finishing farms, four forestry blocks and two horticulture properties.

The regional farm sales total was seven down on the June 30 tally, but Real Estate Institute of NZ's latest sales data shows this reduction was a national trend with 76 fewer farm sales (-16.2 per cent) for the three months ended July 2017 than for the three months ended July 2016.

There were 1739 farm sales in the year to July 2017, 1.5 per cent fewer than were sold in the year to July 2016, with 44 per cent more finishing farms, 28 per cent more dairy farms and 21 per cent fewer grazing farms sold over the same period.

The median price per hectare for all farms sold in the three months to July 2017 was $27,158 compared to $26,492 recorded for three months ended July 2016.

The median price per hectare rose 4.5 per cent compared with June.

REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke said the reduction in sales volumes for the three-month period ending July 2017 reflected the dormant winter period with farmers focusing on the seasonal issues of lambing and calving, activities which dependent upon location, will continue into August and September.

"Of interest and clearly stimulated by the recently announced increase in the milk payout and the current strong beef prices, an air of confidence, or perhaps relief, is quietly growing within the rural sector."

The four Northland dairy farms sold for the three months to July 31 fetched a median price of $12,666/ha, down from $12,949 in June but up on the $11,544/ha median in July last year.

Nationally, the median sales price per hectare for dairy farms was $36,332 (36 properties averaging 133ha), compared to $35,614 for the three months ended July 2016.

On a price per kilo of milksolids basis the median sales price was $35.97kgMS for the three months ended July 2017, compared to $33.62kgMS for the three months ended July 2016.

The 31 Northland grazing units sold for the three months ended July 31 made a median price of $9922/ha, down on $11,072/ha in July last year and $12,174/ha in July 2015.

Nationally, the median sales price per hectare for grazing farms was $11,274 (105 properties averaging 82ha) compared to $15,326 (182 properties) for the three months ended July 2016.

The median price per hectare for grazing farms has fallen 26.4 per cent over the past 12 months.

The eight Northland finishing farms sold for the three months ended July 31 made a median price of $30,215/ha, nearly double the $15,531/ha return for finishing farm sales a year earlier.

The median price per hectare for finishing farms has risen 17.7 per cent nationally over the past 12 months.

For the three months ended July 2017 the national median sale price per hectare for finishing farms was $30,882 (152 properties averaging 45ha), compared to $26,249 (95 properties) for the three months ended July 2016.

The four Northland forestry blocks sold for the three months ended July 31 had a median sales price of $8556/ha, down on $11,072/ha at this time last year.

The 25 forestry blocks sold nationally for the three months ended July 31 had a median price of $6375/ha.

The two Northland horticultural properties sold for the three months ended July 31 had a median price of $104,891/ha, compared with $167,216/ha in June and $149,684/ha in July last year.

Nationally, the median price per hectare for horticulture farms sold for the three months ended July 31 was $149,251 (52 properties averaging 8ha) compared to $205,020 (83 properties) for the three months ended July 2016.

The median price per hectare for horticulture farms has fallen 27.2 per cent over the past 12 months.

Meanwhile, the 251 lifestyle blocks sold in Northland for the three months ended July 31 had a median price of $450,000, the same as in June when the return jumped from $399,500 in July last year.

Nationally, there were 1984 lifestyle property sales in the three months ended July 2017, when the median price of $580,000 was $10,000 higher compared to July last year.

The median price for lifestyle blocks in Auckland fell by $80,000 from $1,260,000 for the three months July 2016 to $1,180,000 for the three months to July 2017.