Land auctions push prices to new highs
Land in the north west has been setting records at auction – Smiths Gore recently sold almost 100 acres on behalf of Cumbria County Council for £17,453/acre.
The 98.5 acres of land and buildings at East Park Farm, Crofton near Thursby came to the market following the retirement of the tenant and was bought as a whole by a local farmer for £1.72m.
East Park Farm offered two blocks of grassland and the range of buildings included a cubicle shed, former dairy, milking parlour and slurry store.
Farmer were also the main bidders for 48 acres of pasture land near Shrewsbury recently. Sold by auctioneers Halls, the land at Ebreywood, near Astley included two acres of woodland and sold for £12,300/acre to a farmer.
“Whereas in the past, most interest has usually been expected for more affordable blocks of land, we now have reached the stage where size is somewhat irrelevant,” said auctioneer David Giles. “We are finding that the larger the area of land on offer, the more interest that often ensues.”