2Q2014 Mid Quarter Update (1 April to 15 May 2014)    

Activity in the farmland market has picked up in recent weeks with 22% more land launched in the first half of quarter two than during the same period last year.

This follows a slow first quarter, when 38% less land was marketed than in 2013, so overall supply since 1 January is 4% lower than in 2013.

“Over the whole of 2014, we still expect more land to be marketed compared with 2013. Farmland continues to be considered a good investment opportunity compared with more mainstream assets. So far this quarter, Smiths Gore has launched over 3,000 acres of land onto the UK market and we have had a great deal of interest in the holdings we are offering; purchasers are still chasing quality holdings and are seeking out the best opportunities for long term capital growth,” says Giles Wordsworth, Head of Farms and Estates Agency.

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Land availability

“The 26,000 acres marketed between 1 April and 15 May exceeds 2013 figures and the 5 year average (22,300 acres).  In the last five years, only 2011 had more land marketed, with 31,400 acres”, according to Dr Jason Beedell, Head of Research at Smiths Gore.

A number of large commercial farms have come to market in the last six weeks; Smiths Gore has recently launched the Trinley Estate in Hampshire, a commercial arable farm which covers nearly 1,400 acres.


Land availability by region

As we often report, there are regional variations within the farmland market. The South West and East of England regions have been the most active between 1 April and 15 May, followed by South Central. Whilst the total area marketed during 2014 has been higher, the number of properties marketed during this period was exactly the same as last year at 129.