18
Feb
Buyers battling it out for South West farmland as supply drops
dramatically
Farmland values across the South West are forecast to rise in
the short term as the key drivers of supply and demand come into
play – but rates of growth are set to vary depending upon
land type, geography and quality.
From 2022 to 2026, it is believed poorer-quality livestock land
value growth will outperform prime arable land, excluding
inflation, against a backdrop of continued constrained supply.
These forecasts build on the performance of the market in 2021,
which saw values in the South West region increase by an average of
8% across all land types.
The value of prime arable land increased by 6.6% during 2021,
while poor livestock land saw the strongest growth of any type at
13.3%.
The figures show out-performance in the regional market, which
saw the strongest growth of any region in England. Scotland was the
highest-performing market, recording an increase of 31.2% across
all farm types last year.
The supply of publicly marketed farmland during 2021 reflects a
slower than expected ‘bounce back’ in the number of
acres available from the lows of 2019 and 2020, suggesting that
supply levels are unlikely to recover to those seen historically in
the short to medium term.