Dairy farm prices continue to rise

Dairy farm prices continued to rise in April, according to data out today from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ).

The national dairy farm median price hit a record $2,707,500 in April, up on the March median price of $2,500,000 and more than $760,000 higher than the April 2004 median of $1,940,000.

But while dairy farm prices went from strength to strength, the national farm median price for April slipped to $910,000, from $952,500 in March and $950,000 in April last year.

REINZ vice president Murray Cleland said the rising dairy farm prices reflected the strength of the dairy industry.

"The strong dairy industry returns, despite fluctuations in the milk fat price and the impact of the strong New Zealand dollar, have been sustained for more than a decade and this is attracting a lot of buying interest from both investors as well as dairy farmers moving to buy their second and their third farms," he said in a statement.

The volume of sales fell to 262 in April, from 294 in March -- which is traditionally a busy month for farm transactions.

Lifestyle block prices also softened, falling from a record median price of $350,000 in March, to $330,000 in April.

Lifestyle block sales eased to 702 for April from 794 in March.

Among the other rural farm categories, finishing properties eased off from a median of $1,480,000 in March, to $1,242,750 in April, but remained up on the figure of $1,092,000 recorded in April 2004.

The median price of horticultural properties was unchanged from the previous month at $765,000, but sales fell to 23 in April from 42 in March.

- NZPA