Last year’s tax announcements, saw a shift in attitudes and priorities from farming businesses who are now focusing on a longer term, strategic review of assets and opportunities.
We have seen a recurring theme, with smaller parcels of land coming to market as farmers choose to consolidate their assets, selling land away from the homestead to raise capital for diversification, reduce debt or to invest in core parts of their businesses.
Depending on the asset, market prices have generally been fairly static for 18 months and realistically, land and rural property is unlikely to increase in value to the levels of 2 years ago. As a result, sellers are adapting their expectations as to what their property sale can achieve and are more confident to come to the open market.
Growing confidence in the open market is reflected by the increase in appraisals with a view to selling later in the year, and we are also seeing clients coming to market who asked for appraisals 18 months ago and are now more confident to sell. It is also very apparent that we are receiving a larger proportion of appraisal requests for properties valued at £1M+, demonstrating that we are very much in the mix for higher value rural properties, farms and land.
A number of sellers have swapped from the off market route to listing on the open market, nevertheless, the off market remains robust as it is generally a less complex process, and buyers are in a position to proceed with funds in place. We always have a number of off market sales on the market and several in the pipeline for 2025.
Looking ahead, we believe that with such volatility in the investment market, investors are likely to look for land and property opportunities which is a better ‘safe haven,’ despite the issues around taxation which have been recently well documented.”
If you are considering a property sale and would like a free, no obligation discussion, contact our Agency Team on 0131 449 6212 or 01900 268 633 or email sales@drrural.co.uk
