The first six months of 2012 have seen the rural property market returning to some consistency in sales across the region. Bayleys Country Manager Pete Stratton, reporting on the year to date noted that the Wanganui Regions farm market seems to have returned to normal, with fewer sales and a shortage of good quality property genuinely on the market.
When he says normal, Pete is not referring to the highs or lows reached in the market over the last decade, but more to the fact that now we are back to a normal turnover of property. The genuine sellers now seem to be farmers finishing their careers or looking for new challenges, rather than selling due to the lure of huge returns, or due to financial pressure.
Peter reports that according to Bayleys Research, 4,737 hectares of farmland over 20 hectares in size has been sold in the Wanganui Region since Christmas. The Bayleys team has sold seven of these farms totalling 2,535 hectares, or 53% of the total. He said only one of these farms could be classified as a stressed sale with the others all being free market sales. Four of these farms had been on the market for a long time and the reason they have sold is the vendors have accepted that the market is stable and they may not see significant increases in the short term.
He says the exciting aspect of the present market is we have stability of price, willing sellers and genuine cash buyers. All these three factors have been absent over the last three years. We are now seeing genuine vendors planning to market their properties this spring. They know the market levels, know there are buyers out there, and are planning well in advance to make sure they attract the best possible buyer and the maximum return.
Pete cautions that as usual, there are many buyers willing to purchase if property can be secured at a discount. He says Bayleys encourage their vendors to ensure their marketing covers the broadest possible audience as efficiently as possible. The aim is to ensure that the vendors have absolute confidence they have received the best possible price for their farm asset. To help achieve this result Bayleys have designed the Bayleys Country Portfolio, their premier marketing tool, to reach a huge audience of prospects. Country is delivered to more than 185,000 national and international property purchasers plus a huge database of qualified contacts, and released to the market on the 26th September 2012. Country is open for bookings up until the 3rd September. He encourages any farmer contemplating selling this season to discuss their plans with their agent sooner than later to ensure proper planning and top quality marketing options are available.