Values of equipped farms have risen for the first time in over a year – with the average value in England rising 4% to £7,300 compared with July to September. However, they are still about 10% lower than a year ago, says Dr Jason Beedell, head of research at Smiths Gore.

The increase is due to smaller farms coming on to the market, where the house boosts the “value per acre”. Over the past three years, Smiths Gore data shows that smaller farms (less than 200 acres) have higher values per acre.

“This demonstrates the importance of carefully lotting farms to maximise their

overall value”, says Giles Wordsworth, head of farm agency at Smiths Gore.  

The average size of farms marketed so far this quarter is 214 acres, much lower than the previous quarter (281 acres) and final quarter of 2008 (332 acres).

The value of bare land remains firm at £4,800 per acre across England. It has stayed between £4,800 and £4,900 for the past year and, despite the credit crunch, is about 30% higher than it was at the end of 2007.

The amount of land for sale in England has tailed off in the final quarter with less than half the amount of land available for sale compared with a year ago, according to Smiths Gore.

All farms - key findings

• 43 farms and parcels of land over 50 acres were marketed in the first half of 2009Q4. This is 50% less than during the same period last year but more than in the equivalent period in 2007 (30 parcels marketed).
• 7,400 acres were marketed in the first half of 2009Q4, which is less than in 2008 (22,300 acres) and 2007 (11,800 acres).

Equipped farms - key findings

• 27 equipped farms have been marketed in the first half of 2009Q4, compared with 53 in the same period in 2008.
• 5,800 acres were marketed in the first half of 2009Q4, which is 67% less than in 2008 when 17,600 acres were marketed.

Bare land - key findings

• 16 parcels of bare land have been marketed in the first half of 2009Q4, compared with 32 in the same period in 2008 representing a drop of 50%.
• 1,600 acres were marketed in the first half of 2009Q4, which is less 67% less than in 2008 (4,700 acres). The average parcel size has dropped from 147 acres to 98 acres.

Farm types and regions - key findings

• There is a noticeable decline in the number of properties and land areas being brought to market in the southern regions of England (South East, South West, East Midlands and East of England).
• Numbers of properties and areas of land in the North West, West Midlands and Yorkshire remain comparable to 2008.