Farms in Cumbria are selling for over 50 percent of their guide price, according to the results of H&H Land & Estates property auctions.
It seems that nothing can stop the ever-increasing price of Cumbrian property and the latest results of auctions certainly confirm this.
Bellow Hill, a 30-acre small farm in the Garsdale Valley, sold at auction on the 1 April for £780,000, which was 63% over its guide price of £480,000.
Atkinson Ground, 24-acres of productive pasture land and areas of woodland overlooking Coniston Water, went under the hammer for £270,000 on 8 April.
It sold for over 50% of the guide price, selling to an average price of £11,231 per acre.
On the same day Hodge Hill Farm, a 90-acre traditional upland farm in the Lake District, sold for an overall price of £1,345,00.
The property, which included a range of traditional farm buildings with potential for development, sold for £930,000.
The two final lots sold as part of Hodge Hill Farm, were 22.79 acres of land selling for £215,000, which was £9,434 per acre, and the final lot, 27.47 acres of land sold for £200,000 - £7,281 per acre.
Both Bellow Hill and Hodge Hill Farms were expected to do well, as was the land at Coniston Water, according to H&H Land & Estates.
It said the demand was coming from two directions - the increasing number of people seeking a more rural lifestyle, which has been given extra impetus by the pandemic, and neighbouring farmers keen to expand.
“All three sales were outstanding,” said Colin Tomlinson, managing director of H&H Land & Estates.
“There was fierce competition both from local buyers and from others across the UK, resulting in all three properties selling well above their guide prices."
There was a particularly strong market for small holdings. "Farmers and adjacent landowners are keen to buy more land, and many people are looking for land with high amenity value and barns and outbuildings to convert.
"High demand and limited supply has certainly got our 2022 season off to a flying start,” he said.
