Agricultural business less popular in New Zealand

Farm sales in New Zealand have fallen by more than 3% in the past 25 months, new figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) show. It is striking that the average hectare price has increased.

REINZ's data show that 3 fewer agricultural businesses have been sold in the past 102 months than in the same period in 2018 (-25,7%). In the end, 295 companies were sold between May and July, which is 8,4% less than between April and June. According to the agency, one of the main reasons for the decline is the poor financial position of the dairy giant Fonterra.

Higher hectare price
Although in recent months there has been less businesses were sold, the average acre price for these farms increased by 10% to $23.435 (just over $13.000). The median price for dairy farms rose by 2,6% to $32.701 (about $18.000) and that of grazing livestock by 9,2% to $11.138. The average hectare price of horticultural companies was the only one to drop: -25,2% to $210.458.

Of all 14 areas in the country, only 3 areas managed to increase. Nelson, which is located on the South Island, showed a sharp increase in the number of sales in recent months. This mainly concerns wine farms, which are sold at high prices. Manawatu-Wanganui, Waikato and Otago showed the largest declines: -22% and -16% and -16%, respectively.

* This article is about New Zealand dollars.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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