English farmland values increase in 2014

The average value of English farmland rose by 4% in 2014 to £10,200 per acre, breaking the £10,000 per acre barrier for the first time in its history.

In 2014, the value of farms with houses and buildings, known as equipped land, rose by 2%, so a slower rate of increase compared with the 12% gain in 2013. This weaker growth is due to buyers becoming more discerning about the quality and type of land that they will buy. Pre-­2014, there was strong demand for land of all qualities and buyers would bid above asking prices to ensure that they were successful. In 2014, farmers have aimed for high quality land, there have been fewer bidders on lower quality land and buyers have actively avoided farms with large farmhouses that could be costly to maintain. So the driver of the market has switched strong demand, fuelled partially by low amounts of land to buy, to weaker demand....

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Published: 08/01/2015 - Smiths Gore Website