The grass has never been greener this summer, and dairy farm sales are on the up

The summer has been fairly mixed for those who headed to the beach, but generally, back on the farm, the grass has never looked greener for most.

It’s not often we get a strong production year paired with an improving commodity cycle; from a farming perspective, this summer has been a ripper. All of which starkly contrasts the weather warnings and market indicators back in November. 

For the month of December, our business was $100m ahead in rural sales on the same time last year, so things are moving, and we are moving with it when it comes to selling rural property. The rural market is up $472m on the prior year at $2.9b in sales (calendar year 2024).

These last two years have been the hardest going of the last decade for many farmers, with the rural property market back a third on the 2021 calendar year by number of sales, the rapid appreciation in interest rates being the main driver post the COVID economic hangover. The important thing about a market is to know when things have bottomed and not miss the opportunity to secure your future and get on the rural property ladder. For dairy property, in our view, that’s right about now.

The dairy market nationally is up a third by value at $933m for the calendar year 2024, and we have seen an appreciable lift in values in both the Waikato and Canterbury. In fact, the Canterbury median dairy price is now $50,000/ha, and the number of dairy farms sold is almost twice that of the prior year.

However, the quiet achiever is Southland; over the calendar year 2024, every second South Island dairy farm sold was in Southland (25 sales) with a median price of $34,000/ha. Southland continues to be very good shopping when you consider their production reliability, the returns being forecast, and the historic on-farm investment in environmental sustainability.

The market overall is without question on the up; there are always regional corrections as part of the mix (e.g. sheep and beef values on the East Coast). Dairy, in our view, has reflected a lot of stored value for quite some time, and it’s good to see buyer demand now matching the contribution these dairy farm businesses make to the national economy both now and into the future.

Whether you’re looking to buy or sell your farm or lifestyle property, our True Team is here to exceed your expectations. With a perfect blend of energy and experience on your side, you can’t go wrong with Property Brokers.

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