Tight supply sees land prices hold steady despite Brexit uncertainty

The average price of bare agricultural land in England and Wales fell by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of the year to £6,975/acre, taking the total decline over the past 12 months to 1 per cent.

According to Knight Frank’s latest farmland index, prices are still 40 per cent higher than they were 10 years ago.

Andrew Shirley, head of rural research at Knight Frank, said: “Given the current two big issues facing the agricultural sector, falling commodity prices and continued Brexit uncertainty, an annual fall of just 1 per cent seems a remarkably resilient performance.

“Robust demand and limited supply help to explain why the market remains relatively steady.”

Carter Jonas noted a 40 per cent decrease in the amount of land marketed across the UK in September this year compared with the same period in 2018.

Records

Savills noted the lowest number of open market farmland launches in Scotland since company records began in 1995.

However, Andrew Fallows, head of rural agency, Carter Jonas, said this could change drastically after October 31.

He said: “The uncertainty means some buyers are unwilling to make large capital investments but there are still motivated individuals around.”