Listen: Rural property and Mycoplasma bovis

The GM of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Peter Newbold. Photo / Supplied

Mycoplasma bovis is taking a financial toll on those with infected farms but is it having an impact on rural property sales?

The GM of PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Peter Newbold spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay about the influence the cattle disease is having on land prices and sales.

Support blocks are lifting in price as dairy farmers look to become self-contained says Newbold.

"That's what we're seeing at the moment, more interest and I think more opportunities in that space as farmers want to look after their stock without sending them out to other properties."

Newbold says M. bovis has had an impact on larger dairy properties but overall it depends on where the farm is located in New Zealand. In fact, he recently attended an auction on the outskirts of Cambridge where a dairy property sold for $11.1 million.

The 92.5 hectare property equated to just short of $120,000 per hectare, which is a record for a Waikato dairy farm.

In a statement released by PGG Wrightson Real Estate, Newbold said the sale reflected the underlying strength of the rural property market despite the various challenges currently facing the dairy sector.

"Mycoplasma bovis, and changes to overseas ownership regulations, are making decisions around investment in dairy more complex, which is holding that part of the rural property market back as farmers work their way around those issues. However, good sales like this one demonstrate that the positivity in the wider rural sector remains, with excellent demand for properties with the right characteristics."

Listen below: