Equipped farmland values slow

The value of equipped land – farms with houses and buildings – rose significantly slower in 2014 compared with the previous year, according to Smiths Gore.

Prices increased by just 2% compared with the 12% gain made in 2013. Weaker growth was blamed on buyers becoming more discerning about the quality and type of land, with less interest for lower quality land and a lack of interest in farms with large farmhouses.

English farmland value rose 4% to £10,200/acre in 2014 – the first time in history that it has broken the £10,000 barrier.