Our property auction held in Ashbourne was one of the last in the area before the end of the tax year and the introduction of the new Capital Gains Tax regime. With local farming interest, the land sold well reinforcing the national trend. The larger mixed arable and pastureland blocks (24 acres and 97 acres) situated in the Derbyshire Dales achieved £4,050 per acre and £4,430 per acre respectively, which is good for the area and in line with average agricultural values across the country.
Since then, the market has continued to improve and we expect it to continue to do so in the short term at least. The new flat rate of CGT may lead some potential vendors to rearrange the structure of their business to retain the land, thus avoiding increased tax liabilities. In turn, this would reduce supply and drive prices further upwards. However, potential vendors are also finding it difficult to ignore recent sale results and the rising market which could be further improved by the introduction of city funds.
Reports suggest that land prices in Ireland are easing slightly, but we continue to receive interest from Irish farmers desperate for decent size blocks that can be farmed as a separate unit or as an addition to their own in Ireland.
At Fisher German we continue to track the changing profile of the agricultural land buyer and adapt our marketing campaigns accordingly. We also encourage potential buyers to register on our ever expanding mailing list in order to be amongst the first to receive details on new property. As a preliminary note to that, we expect to be launching the sale of a well equipped stock farm, and other land, in Staffordshire soon – enquiries to james.pegrum@fishergerman.co.uk
For further advice, or for a free market appraisal of your property, contact Fisher German on 01785 220044.
