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Farm and Land Market – cautious optimism for 2021…

Farm and Land Market – cautious optimism for 2021…

Before most of us had heard the word COVID there were concerns that Brexit may have had a negative impact on the demand for farms and land, and as a result on land values. After analysing the sales that Stags Farm Agency have been involved with during 2020 and the first half of 2021 the opposite has been true.

We are currently experiencing a strengthened farms and land market. This is underpinned by a perfect storm of: a reduced supply of available property, heightened demand from confidence in the agricultural sector, and a greater number of people wanting to move into the South West from other areas of the UK.

The demand for residential property in the South West has been widely reported and the farm and land market mirrors this; there have been fewer farms and land lots offered for sale in 2021 compared with the rolling average. Those buying farms and land appear to be taking a longer-term view and the result is improved land and property values.

The stamp duty ‘holiday’ has not directly benefited farm or land sales but there has been a knock-on effect where buyers are selling residential property to fund the purchase of a farm.

Our analysis of the farms sold so far in 2021 by Stags shows that 58% of farms have been purchased by non-farmers whereas our land sales have been the other way around: 58% of land lots of 20 acres and above have been purchased by existing farmers and farm businesses.

Completed sales in North Devon and Exmoor so far in 2021 include:

  • Kemps Farm, Winsford, Exmoor (223 acres). An accessible livestock farm adjoining the River Exe.
  • Land at Culsworthy, Sutcombe, North West Devon (135 acres). Pasture and arable land purchased by a local farmer.
  • Cruwys Ball, East Anstey, North Devon (67 acres). A privately situated residential farm with views towards Exmoor.
  • North Warcombe Farm, Lee, North Devon (44 acres). A small livestock farm overlooking Lee Bay on the North Devon Coast.
  • Taw Meadow, Umberleigh, North Devon (28 acres). Attractive river meadows which completed less than one month after the offer was accepted.

Interest rates remain at historically low levels and we now know more about future agricultural policy than we did a year ago. With the UK’s COVID vaccination programme working towards getting us all back to a more normal way of life from later in the year, we are cautiously optimistic for a more stable market for farms and land going forward.
 

For formal or informal advice on the sale of your farm or land, please contact Andrew Dodds on 01769 575244 or George Alder on 01392 680059. Email farms@stags.co.uk