The volume of farm sales rose over winter, although results were mixed depending on the type of farm.
According to the Real Estate Institute of NZ, 208 farms of all types were sold in the three months ended August, up 18.9% compared to the same period of last year.
The median selling price per hectare was $28,625, up 15.8%.
However the REINZ All Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in sales by farm type, size and location, was down 3.2%.
The improvement in sales was driven by higher sales of dairy and grazing properties, while sales of horticulture and finishing properties remained weak.
There were 18 dairy farm sales in the three months to August, up from 15 in the same period of last year.
The average price per hectare increased from $35,960 to $36,930 (+2.7%) over the same period, while the REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index, which adjusts for differences in dairy farm sales by size and location was up 28.5% for the year.
But the really big increase was in the price per kilo of milk solids, which was $45.19 in the three months to August, up 60% compared to a year ago.
Grazing farm sales were also stronger, with 69 properties sold over the three months to August, up from 43 over the same period of last year.
The median price per hectare was $16,080, up 37.4% compared to a year ago.
However sales of finishing farms were weaker, with just 33 sales in the the three months ended August compared to 53 in the same period of last year, while the median price per hectare was $33,520, down 4.1% compared to a year ago.
While the number of horticultural properties sold in the three months to August (22) was unchanged from a year ago, the median price hectare slumped from $444,310 for the three months ended August last year, to $245,630 for the same period of 2024, which was a price decline of 44.7% for the year.
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