For the three months ended September 2015 there were 10 less farm sales (total 337) than for the same period a year earlier (total 347) and 50 less farm sales than for the three months ended August 2015 (total 387).
A total of 1726 farms have been sold for the year to September 2015. This is a 10.1% drop from the same period a year earlier. The median price per hectare for farms sold in the three month period to September 2015 was $26,020. This compares about the same (+0.1%) for the same three months in 2014 but is a 6.6% drop compared to the three months to August 2015.
REINZ Rural Spokesman Brian Peacocke said farmer morale has lifted within the industry. "The latest payout price from Fonterra and the lift in the GlobalDairyTrade auction prices have stimulated a collective sigh of relief amongst dairy farmers.
“While the problems are not yet solved the signals indicate operational losses for the season may be less than anticipated. The current levels of interest rates and exchange rates are additional positive factors within the mix,” Peacocke said.
On dairy sales, Peacocke said some points of interest include strong buyer demand of dairy farms in Northland, although listings are in short supply. He said there was speculation on dairy unit values in the Waikato which was dampening sales activity in the area. He also noted a shortage of buyers for dairy farms in Southland where a slight easing of prices was anticipated.
A total of 11 dairy properties were sold during the three months ended September 2015 at a median price of $25,108 per hectare. This is in sharp contrast to the data from the same three months a year earlier where 20 dairy properties sold for a median price of $40,462. For the three months ended August 2015 a total of 21 dairy properties were sold for a median price of $26,906 per hectare.
Of the 11 dairy properties sold during the three months to September 2015, six were sold in Waikato, two in Canterbury, one in Northland, one in Auckland, and one in Otago.
The median size for the dairy farms sold during the three months to September 2015 was 163ha compared to 93ha for the same three months a year earlier and 130ha for the three months to August 2015.
The REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index fell 8.2% in the three months to September compared to the three months to August. Compared to September 2014, the REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index fell by 17.6%.
The REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index adjusts for differences in farm size and location compared to the median price per hectare, which does not adjust for these factors. REINZ said to note also, at this time of year the low number of dairy farm sales does make the median price per hectare and REINZ Dairy Farm Price Index more volatile.
