by Susan Edmunds
Chief executive Wendy Alexander said: "The value of lifestyle and rural properties we have sold in the past three months is up 20% compared to those for the same period last year, while the number of properties sold is up 10%.”
She said that in the past six months, the firm had sold 179 rural and lifestyle properties, for an average price of $24.4 milion.
"This is the highest average price in a six month period for the past four years."
Of the areas Barfoot and Thompson covers, in Northland the focus has been on dairy and dry stock farms, with the price an hectare for dairy farms being around $19,000 and that for dry stock farms $10,000. The price per hectare for medium hill country farms more suited to sheep and beef ranged from $5000 to $9000.
Closer to Auckland the emphasis was on smaller holdings and lifestyle blocks, with the interest in Kumeu, Helensville, Coatesville and Clevedon much stronger than in the recent past, Alexander said.
Real Estate Institute of New Zealand figures showed there were 13 more farm sales nationwide for the three months ended June 2012 than in the same three months the year before.
There were 406, compared to 467 in the three months to May 2012. On a seasonally adjusted basis, after accounting for normal seasonal fluctuations, the number of sales fell by 6.8%.
Nine of the fourteen regions recorded increases in sales volumes for the three months ended June 2012 compared to the three months ended June 2011.
Wellington recorded the largest increase in sales (+11 sales), followed by Bay of Plenty (+10 sales) and Nelson (+8 sales).
Southland recorded 12 fewer sales, Otago 11 fewer sales and Waikato six fewer sales in the three months to June 2012 compared to the three months to June2011.
Compared to the three months ended May 2012 only Hawkes Bay, Northland and Wellington recorded increases in sales.
“Demand for farm properties remains strong, despite the onset of winter and the continuing volatility in commodity prices,” said REINZ rural spokesman Brian Peacocke. “We are seeing continued strength in the finishing and grazing sectors, with continuing solid inquiry for good quality dairy farms, with some late in the season settlements.”
The lifestyle property market saw a 7.6% increase in sales in the three months to June2012 compared to June 2011. Just under 1500 sales were recorded in the three months to June 2012 compared to 1386 sales in the three months to June 2011. Ninety-two fewer sales were recorded compared to the three months to May 2012 (+5.8%), although on a seasonally adjusted basis lifestyle sales fell by 3.4%.
The national median price for lifestyle blocks rose by $2500 (+0.5%) from $475,000 for the three months to May to $477,500 for the three months to June to reach a new record high. Compared to three months to June 2011, the median price also rose by $17,500 (+3.8%).
Peacocke said: “The lift in the median price to a new record high reflects an ongoing shortage of quality listings in many parts of the country, although we have seen something of a slowdown in the number of sales with the onset of winter.”
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