English Estates & Farmland Market Review | Autumn 2024

Farmland values remain high despite increased supply and Autumn Budget uncertainty.

The value of farmland in England remains close to record levels, despite an increase in the volume of land being marketed and ongoing speculation about whether there will be changes to the tax regime in the Autumn Budget.

Latest analysis of our Farmland Database shows two-thirds of sales of arable land are being agreed at £10,000/acre or more. The average price of arable land in Q3 2024 remains at £11,000/acre – so just below the record level set in 2023 of £11,200/acre. Over half of pasture land also now sells for £8,000/acre or more.

Supply on the open market is higher than it has been for some time. The 86,200 acres launched during the first nine months of the year is the second highest amount in 10 years. It was higher in 2018, but that was a year when volumes were inflated by the sale of a 13,000-acre business in the East of England.

The number of properties for sale is the highest since 2015 and there has been a higher number of larger farms and estates available. To date, there have been 24 farms of over 500 acres launched and 12 over 1,000 acres, which is higher than we would typically see.

In terms of demand, prime farms in locations where there tend to be wealthy buyers continue to sell well and often over the guide price. Smaller blocks of bare land can also command very high prices, often being bought by farmers with rollover money who are highly motivated when they see a neighbour has land for sale. However, overall, the feeling among agents is that demand has eased since the frenzy of the post-Covid period of 2021/22. This means there is a second tier of farms, which can be extremely good quality but in less popular areas, which are taking longer to sell. This will be frustrating for the vendors affected, but it does mean buyers have more choice.

Read the full English Estates & Farmland Market Review – Autumn 2024 edition for more detail on:

· Market outlook

· Supply

· Demand

· Pricing