Our research shows that across Great Britain during the first quarter of 2012, the volume of publicly marketed farmland increased by 20% compared with the same quarter of 2011. The national picture, however, conceals some significant regional variations in market activity (see Graph 1).
In England, no change was reported in the volume of publicly marketed farmland during the first quarter of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.
In Scotland, 5,214 acres of farmland were publicly marketed during the first three months of 2012 compared to 1,913 acres up to the end of March 2011. This equates to a 173% rise. Supply has not been this high in Scotland since 2000 when 11,791 acres were publicly marketed.
Increased supply was also recorded in the North, South East and South West of England. In the North, supply rose by a significant 109%, this figure being inflated by a large acreage of land launched by the UK Coal Group. In the South East and South West, supply rose 12% and 3% respectively.
In contrast, supply fell furthest in the East of the country, where the volume of farmland publicly marketed fell by -50% in the East of England and -41% in the East Midlands. In Wales, the amount of farmland openly marketed decreased by -34% during the first quarter of 2012 to just over 450 acres.
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