Our Farmland Value Survey shows that in the first quarter of 2012 the average value of grade 3 arable land in Great Britain rose by 0.9% to £5,700 per acre. This follows a rise of 6.5% throughout 2011, 11% in 2010, 7.2% during 2009 and 16.7% in 2008.
This report focuses principally on average values of grade 3 arable farmland. However, it should be noted that Savills forecast for an increasingly diverse market is holding true and the range in prices paid and rates of growth now vary. Higher prices continue to be paid for the best quality land, especially the larger commercial arable farms.
In England, the average value of grade 3 arable land rose by 1.0% to £6,050 per acre in the first three months of 2012.
Scotland reported zero growth in farmland values during the first three months of the year, with supply at its highest since 2000.
Closer analysis reveals that between September 2010 and June 2011 Scottish values remained unchanged until the Summer of 2011. It will be interesting to see if this pattern is repeated during 2012. Also, historically the farmland market is known to start trading later in the year, north of the border.
As illustrated in Graph 2, the highest increase in values during the first quarter of this year was recorded in the East Midlands at 3.3%.
The North of England and Wales also recorded higher than average rates of growth at 2.9% and 2.8% respectively.
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