Agricultural and strategic land values are hitting £20, no rx 000 an acre as developers scour the UK for suitable development land.
Bruton Knowles rural affairs expert Matthew Peters said economic drivers were combining to push up prices in many areas including the Cotswolds and around Bristol as well as London and the South East.
“Farmers and landowners who have sold land for development are looking for the best investment and re-investing in land is very often the answer to avoid potential tax pitfalls.
“This process is accelerating as farmers face steadily declining commodity prices.”
The Gloucester based agricultural sector specialist acknowledged the steep increase in land prices was very much location specific.
“But the price of land on the right farm in the right place has increased by at least twenty per cent.
“The people buying are farmers. It’s a generational business and this is one way of passing land on to the next generation via succession planning.”
Matthew Peters said the majority of land deals proceeding at the moment were private sales.
“That’s where Bruton Knowles comes in as we are able to put people in touch through word of mouth – saving on costs. It’s also stress free.”
He went on: “A lot of people are doing share farming which has the advantage of bringing the younger generations in to the industry. As long as they can show they are farming, land buyers can potentially mitigate some tax liability.”
Looking forward to 2015, Matthew Peters predicted land values would continue to rise as developers bought up land for more housing meaning that farmers will have money to spend to acquire farms in the right location.
He concluded: “The population continues to grow and land is a diminishing asset. Lots more houses have still got to be built and many of these will inevitably have to be on green field sites and of course, everyone has to be fed.”