Farm sales surged 109 per cent in the March quarter, to the highest level in a three-month period since September 2008, the start of the global financial crisis.
The number of farms sold rose to 397 in the three months ended March 31, from 190 sales a year earlier, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.
The median price per hectare for all farms sold rose 14.1 per cent to $17,577.
"Sales over the three months to March reflect the strengthening of the rural economy, bolstered by favourable growing conditions, very good levels of production, solid market returns and a positive climate for borrowing," said Brian Peacocke, rural market spokesman at REINZ.
All regions, apart from the Hawkes Bay, recorded an increase in sales in the March quarter compared with a year earlier. Canterbury showed the largest increase, up 39 sales, followed by Waikato on 38, while the Hawkes Bay dropped four sales.
