“The average value of English farmland has risen by 2% to £10,100 per acre in 2014, with no change in values in since June.  Values have risen by 5% in the past 12 months and by 20% in the past three years, so the rate of price increases has slowed”, says Dr Jason Beedell, head of Research at Smiths Gore.

“While demand for farms with houses and buildings has increased in the last year as non-farmer buyers return to the market for these types of farms after the recession, the strongest demand is from farmers buying bare land for purely farming purposes”, according to Giles Wordsworth, National Head of Farms and Estates Agency.

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Bare land values average £7,400 per acre, and have risen 4% in 2014; an increase of 2% in the past 12 months and by 27% in the last three years.  Farms with houses and buildings (known as equipped land) have risen by 2%, 7% and 20% over the same periods and now average £11,000 per acre.

The value of arable land is increasing more than grassland (8% compared with 6% in the past 12 months).

Values are continuing to be supported by the lack of farmland available to buy.  10% less land has been marketed so far in 2014 compared with 2013.  The 97,700 acres marketed so far is the second lowest amount marketed historically, with 79,200 acres in 2012 being an overall low point.

There are significant variations between regions; the South West and East of England are the most active, with 19,300 acres (125 sales) and 18,000 acres (94 sales) marketed respectively in the year to date; the least active regions are the North East and North West, with 4,500 acres (22 sales) and 5,800 acres (40 sales).