City People Boost Rural Market

RICS has found that city folk are keeping the rural market buoyant as farmers, wary of the implications CAP reform may have on them, are neither buying nor selling.

bvgQZVmV9JEQP99a6dk2cg.jpg
City People Boost Rural Market
Country Life's avatar
By
published
in Features

Uncertainty over CAP reforms is preventing farmers from buying or selling land, according to the Institute of Chartered Surveyors. The latest rural land survey, published by RICS today has found that farmers are unwilling to buy or sell land which could end up being either an asset or a millstone depending on the outcome of the review of the CAP, currently underway in the EU Parliament. Meanwhile, market activity is being supported by demand from non-farming city people whose incomes are not dependent on the CAP. Non-farmer buyers are facing increasing competition for farm properties as availability is falling. In the third quarter, 58% more surveyors reported a fall in the supply of farms with a desirable house, which is a significant decrease from the 22% reporting a decline in second quarter. RICS also found that between July and September 45% of purchasers of rural property were 'non-farmers' - almost identical to the second quarter, while the proportion of farmers buying land fell from 43% to 41% over the same period. RICS Rural Spokesman, Julian Sayers, says: 'Uncertainty over the mid-term review of the CAP reforms is resulting in a lack of land coming on to the market as many farmers are holding back to see how the agricultural support regime pans out. 'This, coupled with the strong appetite and competition for land from non-farmers, has supported expectations that prices will strengthen over the coming year.'

Country Life
Country Life

Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.

Latest