Farmland in your area 2024: South West England

A scarcity of farms and land for sale endured as a principal feature of the market in the south-west of England through 2024.

The past 12 months saw strong demand for commercial and lifestyle farms, although the extent of that demand and the prices achieved were very much dictated by location.

Sales were mixed, with some agents reporting a good level of activity and others saying 2024 suffered from a shortage of supply.

Demand and values are expected to be strong in the year ahead.

See also: Land market review and outlook – West Midlands

George Alder, head of farm agency, Stags

Despite a series of events stalling property market activity in 2024, the West Country’s farms and agricultural land market was relatively stable.

Demand for commercial farms and sizable blocks of productive agricultural land was sustained, particularly in Devon, where we saw a 38% increase in the amount of land sold compared with 2023.

Character residential farms offering privacy and protection, often needing renovation, saw strong demand.

Overall, there were plenty of buyers, but demand and price were very location-specific. For good arable and grazing land there was still keen competition in some areas.

The range of buyers was mixed, from those acquiring for their own agricultural use or buying for investment, to recreation and equestrian uses, alongside buyers with rollover funds from the sale of development land.

Smaller parcels remained highly sought after, often achieving premium prices. Auctions serve as a successful method for selling such lots.

Stability is expected to continue in 2025, unless there is a significant increase in open market supply.

What sold well in 2024

Hurst Farm, at Worton, Wiltshire, sold in two lots to expanding landowners at prices above the £2.6m guide for the whole.

Marketed by Woolley & Wallis, it has 151 acres of productive land and farm buildings together with a period house, a let cottage and a redundant mill.

Hurst Farm © Woolley & Wallis

Wheatcroft Farm near Cullompton, Devon, was launched by Stags in 2024 and sold in two lots.

The four-bedroom character farmhouse and buildings were bought by a developer and the 141 acres of productive land and woodland by a farmer, achieving near to the guide of £2.695m for the whole.

Wheatcroft Farm © Stags

Sophie Clotworthy, associate farm and rural agent, Woolley & Wallis

Good-sized commercial farms and bare land in 2024 saw a strong market across the south-west of England, with interest from a wide range of buyers.

Lifestyle farms and smallholdings received good levels of interest too.

Across all farm types, we saw good activity in Dorset, south Wiltshire and west Hampshire.

What has not changed is that demand exceeds the number of farms for sale.

I saw farm owners holding back from launching, with some delaying in the hope of a less volatile economic and political environment.

There has been much talk about the impact of the Autumn Budget and changes to inheritance tax (IHT) reliefs on land values.

There may well be more forced sales in 2025 but it is difficult to say when the full effect will be seen.

As with any economic or political changes, there will be those who will benefit, and those who won’t. 

There are many other factors on which IHT changes have no bearing, such as roll-over money from development and companies looking to buy land for offsetting purposes.

In the south-west of England, however, I expect demand and values in 2025 to remain strong.

On the market

Gibbet Moor © Stags

Stags is marketing the 53-acre Gibbet Moor near Tiverton, in Devon, at £895,000 for the whole.

The farm has a stone-built house suitable for re-development, a range of traditional barns around an enclosed yard and modern-style farm buildings.