Healthy Land Sales Look Good for 2025

Healthy land sales throughout 2024 bode well for a buoyant market in the North West in 2025

The continuing strength of the land market in the North West in 2024 has been driven primarily by a sustained demand for small pockets of land, with a premium on locations based amongst larger farms.

In a wet year there has been some reluctance to bring farms and larger parcels of land to the market, and high interest rates have also had a dampening effect. But we have been able to bring a large number of farms to the market on behalf of farmers retiring without family members to succeed them, and a thriving dairy industry has created a strong demand for dairy farms across the region.

There has also been a robust market throughout the year for properties sold at auction, particularly small parcels of bare land, and prior to the Budget, cash buyers have been very much in evidence.

In 2025, we expect to see a steady supply of farms and bare land coming to the market, and with interest rates decreasing, more buyers are likely to be willing to borrow to invest.

Older farmers are expected to sell rather than letting or renting out, and the Budget changes to IHT reliefs will make local knowledge absolutely key to accurate valuations.

Contrary to the Chancellor’s aims, I believe that family farms will be impacted most, while larger farms will be able to take advantage of any drop in values or more land coming on the market and continue to pay any IHT due. Small farms under £1m are in most cases not operated as farming businesses and will remain protected from IHT.