Oxon market moving fast
Oxon market moving fast
By Andrew Shirley
OXFORDSHIRES land market is moving quickly, with some extremely swift transactions taking place and a number of new properties up for grabs.
Latest to the table is Chilswell, a 316-acre dairy and arable unit at Boars Hill, three miles from Oxford, on the market with Knight Frank. But at £3.2m, much of the units price is locked up in bricks and mortar, says the firms Edward Welton. "A lot of the value is in the core, made up of the house (six-bedrooms) and 30 acres."
To maximise the residential appeal Mr Welton has split the offering four ways. Most of the land is included in a 256-acre lot of mainly IACS-registered soil that Mr Welton reckons is worth £2400/acre.
If the recent sale of Chilling Place Farm, Brill, is anything to go by there is certainly plenty of non-farming money chasing farms in the county. Contracts were exchanged on the 328-acre holding after only one week on the market and the figure agreed is thought to be well above the £1.5m guide price.
Nick Hextall, of selling agent John D Wood, says a deal had already been mooted before advertising even commenced. "We had a huge amount of interest and the trustees agreed to accept an offer prior to marketing."
The firm is also selling Radcot Bridge Farm near Faringdon. Running to 284 acres of arable and pastureland, the holding comes with a five-bedroom barn conversion and is priced at about £1.5m.
But it is not just City money that is setting the pace. Local firm Adkin also reports the speedy sale of its latest offering, a 570-acre arable unit near Wantage.
Agent Philip Pocock says Chainhill Farm sold as a whole to a farmer who plans to run it on a commercial basis and achieved well above its £2.2m guide price.
Mr Pocock puts the quick result down to the holdings arable attributes and the scarcity of similar farms for sale. "The fact that virtually all of the farm is IACS-registered was a key factor."
Into the Cotstwolds, FPDSavills launched Shilton Downs near Burford last week, and the firms Will Naylor claims he was "almost knocked over in the rush" to check out the 272-acre farm. "We did 14 viewings in just seven days."
Much of the interest in the property, which is valued at almost £2m, has come from "major league" players in the racing industry, he says. "It is a bit too small and pricey to have much farming appeal, but it appears a number of trainers and breeders are looking to move away from Lambourn." *