WHILE the property market continues to remain turbulent in the UK's towns and cities, agricultural land is continuing to hold as people look for safe investments.
The area of agricultural land marketed this year is more than double than it has been in the past two years with some plots of land being sold for more than 50 per cent of their guideline price.
Rural land has always been traditionally seen as a s
afe investment and further turbulence in the stock markets is drawing investors to put their money in the countryside.
Chartered surveyor Smiths Gore reported more farms and land being put up for sale since the start of April than for the same period of 2007 and 2008 combined.
And Yorkshire-based George F White said it had seen a strong interest in the county for people looking to buy rural land.
Earlier this month a farmer at Askrigg, near Leyburn in North Yorkshire sold 11 acres of meadow and pasture land for £110,000, 57 per cent more than the guide price of £70,000.
The previous week it sold 22 acres of pasture land at Stalling Busk, near Malham in the Yorkshire Dales for £54,000, 35 per cent more than it's guide price of £40,000.
James Alderson, rural practice surveyor for George F White, told the Yorkshire Post: "It is evident that investors are definitely viewing agricultural land as a relatively safe place to invest their assets.
"Agricultural land value is an area of the property market which is buoyant, with people viewing it as a safe investment compared to today's turbulent stock market.
"These phenomenal auction results reflect a growing trend for rural property and we anticipate prices remaining strong. Both these lots included land and buildings with roadside frontage and sweeping views of the local countryside and were purchased as investment opportunities.
"In the city land is sold for development and there is not a lot of development going on at present due to the state of the economy.
"Whereas with rural land it is what everyone wants. It can be used for food production and is part of the countryside and they are not making any more of it."
Giles Wordsworth, head of farm agency at Smiths Gore, said the picture was being reflected nationally.
"The spring land market has taken off with more farms and land for sale since the start of April than for the same period in 2007 and 2008. Over 120 farms and parcels of land were marketed and the area of land marketed has almost doubled to 30,000 acres.
"The market is proving to be more robust than we had expected – this is a good indicator of the strength of the market and bodes well for the rest of the year."
