Over the year to the end of October, sales of all farm types were 1649, 6.3 per cent fewer than were sold in the year to October 2016, with tough weather conditions in winter and spring playing a big part in the fall-off.
Lifestyle block sales were also down, with 7816 lifestyle properties sold, 14.2 per cent less than the year before.
Institute spokesman Brian Peacocke said there were a number of reasons why dairy farmers in Waikato and Southland in particular were putting their properties on the market.
«The drivers for such a movement appear to be a mix of the following: succession planning/increasing age of farmers, frustration for some resulting from the climatic conditions and difficulties with labour, the inexorable increase in compliance issues and the awareness it is probably better to sell when the dairy payout is at a reasonably healthy level as opposed to when the payout is under pressure.»
Compared to October last 2016 the REINZ all farm price index rose 7.3 per cent.
Even though large numbers of dairy farms were being put up for sale, only five sold in October throughout the country. Three of those were in Southland «at lower to modest levels» but none in Taranaki, Manawatu and Canterbury.
The median sales price per hectare for dairy farms was $40,012, for finishing farms $29,057, and for grazing farms $11,822.
Recent million dollar per hectare sales of kiwifruit orchards was reflected in the median price per ha for horticulture properties rising 92.1 per cent over the past 12 months.
Sales of arable farms were up in October, with one Methven property fetching $58,000 per ha. Arable farmers are reporting a renewal in confidence with plantings of barley back to historical high levels.
Finishing properties accounted for the largest number of sales with a 33 per cent share of all sales over the three months to October, while grazing properties accounted for 27 per cent horticulture 15 per cent and dairy 8 per cent.
The median price for all lifestyle properties sold in the three months to October 2017 was $616,000, $71,000 higher compared to the three months ended October 2016.
There was a high level of listings close to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch but sales volumes for Otago dropped to the lowest monthly level since January last year.