Rural property buyers and sellers are taking a wait-and-see approach ahead of the election, says PGG Wrightson General Manager, Livestock & Real Estate, Peter Newbold.
“I think if you go to lifestyle and residential, definitely it is having a bearing,” Newbold told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.
“Rural, I think people probably are just hanging off a bit and just seeing what happens.”
However, seasonal factors were also contributing to a slowdown in activity, Newbold said.
“We’ve got to remember that the autumn sales moved well into winter, so there’s probably a bit of that as well.
“We’re in that little bit of a lull at the moment as new listings come to the market.”
Newbold said he had expected more listings earlier in the year.
“I must admit, I did get it a little bit wrong,” he said.
“I actually thought listings would come earlier, but they’re going to come later this year.
“So there’s a combination of both, but the election definitely is having probably more impact than I would have thought if you’d asked me the question a month or so ago.”
Meanwhile, dairy farms remain in hot demand, which Newbold put down to the industry’s “great run”.
“The future looks strong, so there’s a real shortage.”
He said the shortage was most noticeable in Mid Canterbury and the wider Canterbury region.
Newbold said strong returns and interest from a range of buyers were tightening supply.
“There are a lot of large farming entities which want to increase their property holdings.
“Then you’ve got the corporates, and then you’ve got what I’d call that new corporate group, people that haven’t been involved in farming before, who want to get into the dairy piece.”
Newbold said high demand and limited supply were shaping the market.
“There’s a lot of demand, and as we know, there’s a lot of existing vendors hanging on and reaping the rewards of solid returns. So it’s an interesting space.
“People probably won’t agree with me, but sometimes the best time to sell is when the market is up. But we’ll see how that goes over the next six months.”
Newbold said major operators were also influencing demand for dairy support blocks.
“I think what’s happening is some of these larger entities start adding to their portfolios; they need good support blocks.
“They’re in demand, and I think we’re going to see some upward shift in values.”
He expected activity to increase as more dairy conversions took place and existing operators expanded their portfolios.
Pictured: Historic Whare Creek Station, nestled beneath Southland’s Takitimu Mountains, is on the market after four generations of family ownership.
As for sheep and beef opportunities, Newbold said a historic Western Southland farm was up for sale.
Whare Creek Station, situated beneath the Takitimu Mountains, has been farmed by the Speight family for four generations.
“Not many like that come to the market,” Newbold said.
“18,000-odd stock units, beautiful property, well run, well maintained, great infrastructure.”
He predicted more historic properties would become available over the next 12 to 18 months.
“Some of those farming families get to a point where succession, retirement and all those things come into play, but that’s just one out of the box.”
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