Land in your area 2024: West Midlands

Analysis of the West Midlands farmland market confirms a considerable drop in supply in 2024.

Data reveals that just 2,515 acres were marketed publicly across the region compared to 8,200 acres in 2023, making the supply level one of the lowest for a number of years.

However, land agents confirm they were instructed to act in a number of private transactions that resulted in significant acreage changing hands without market exposure. This could explain, in part, the lower open-market supply level.

See also: Farm and land sales – some 2024 highlights

There have been more lifestyle and non-farming investors buying land and a little less competition from active farmers. 

What sold well in 2024

Grassland at Beoley © Fisher German

After competitive bidding, a 122-acre ringfenced block of grassland at Beoley, near Redditch, sold to an investor buyer in excess of its £1.05m guide.

The property, sold by Fisher German by informal tender, is grade 3 grazing land, divided into multiple enclosures.

Massey House Farm © Barbers Rural

Massey House Farm, a 252-acre dairy farm at Whitchurch, Shropshire, was offered for sale in lots by Barbers Rural but sold as a whole in excess of its £3m guide to a local tenant farmer who wanted to secure their own holding.

Richard Gadd, partner, Fisher German

We saw fewer complete farms offered across the region in 2024, with most of the supply arising from bare land holdings and the majority of acres advertised located in the western half of the region, in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

Noticeably, many of these holdings remain available after the summer marketing campaigns.

We saw more debt-related and retirement sales, along with a number of parties citing reducing Basic Payment Scheme money as a driver for sale.

In many cases, only parts of wider holdings or off-lying blocks were offered to reduce debt pressures and to enable reinvestment into alternative enterprises.

Average values for both arable and pasture land remained fairly stable, but there is evidence of values softening for those poorer and less accessible holdings.

With supply down, transactional evidence has been more limited, so we must treat those average values with caution.

We foresee a slight softening in demand, or certainly more caution, from the farmer and lifestyle buyer types in early 2025 as the agricultural property relief and business property relief detail develops.

We expect demand from corporate and institutional buyers, and those motivated by offset and carbon-driven projects to remain consistent.

Annabel Fearnall, partner, Barbers Rural

Land sales in the West Midlands remained strong through 2024, despite the ever-changing political and economic situation.

In the early part of the year, we saw a steady increase in the average price of all land types, with a marked price disparity between good-quality arable land and poorer grassland.

Prices levelled off throughout the spring and summer, which can be attributed to the pressures of higher interest rates, decreasing commodity prices and a narrowing of farm profit margins, as well as pre-election and Budget uncertainty.

As ever, death, debt and divorce remained the main drivers for sales.

Farmers, investors and those purchasing for environmental reasons, such as carbon offsetting and biodiversity net gain, all looked to secure land.

I don’t expect the market in the area to alter dramatically in 2025 as there is still relatively little land sold each year, with plenty of demand.

There is hardly doubt, however, that buyers will be more clinical in their decisions, and will be mindful of external forces including tax implications.

Furthermore, the reduction of agricultural land available to farm due to the government’s policy on housing development should reinforce prices.

On the market

Little Malvern Court © Fisher German

Little Malvern Court at Malvern, Worcestershire, is being marketed by Fisher German at £6.25m for the whole and is also available in lots.

The 255-acre property has an historic six-bedroom hall, a farmhouse, cottages and gardens with lakes and a tennis court.

In addition to arable and pasture land and woodland there is a range of farm buildings.

Malt Kiln Farm © Barbers Rural

Malt Kiln Farm, a dairy farm at Hunsterson, Nantwich, is being marketed by Barbers Rural.

It comes with 151 acres, a farmhouse and an extensive range of buildings, and is offered for sale as a whole at a guide of £2.5m.