178 farms were sold in December, the most for a December since 2007 and the second highest for any month in 2012; prices per hectare hold

The market recorded 178 sales, which is 26% higher than December last year and about 55% above the average over the past four years.

These details are drawn from the Real Estate Institute monthly reports for December 2012, and focus only on farm sales - excluding lifestyle blocks.

The median price per hectare was up to $23,070 in December 2012, up 1% on a month ago. Lower average prices were seen for arable, finishing, grazing and dairy properties compared with those same categories in November , and horticulture properties rose slightly.

December sales included: 

  10 arable farms, at an average per hectare of $24,929 (November was $26,908)
  35 dairy farms, at an average per hectare of $34,483 ($37,166)
  36 finishing units, at an average per hectare of $18,852 ($18,950)
  74 grazing properties, at an average per hectare of $16,511 ($16,829)
  11 horticultural, at an average per hectare of $89,139 ($88,889)
  12 farms of other types

For more perspectives, see

- Exchange rates
- Commodity prices
- Farm cost indexes
- Interest rate trends
- Rural credit aggregates
- Farm sales activity
- International dairy prices

for saleyard and processor price trend graphs, see

- lamb
- beef
- deer
- velvet