The sale of two very different Suffolk farms – offered up at £1.8m and £2.2m – could be a barometer for the agricultural market for the rest of the year, an agent predicts.
Savills Ipswich is selling Abbey Farm in Linstead Parva, near Halesworth and Braes Farm, Assington, near Sudbury.
William Hargreaves, who is leading both sales, said they would prove a good test of the market at a time when very little land is available and should serve as an indication as to how prices may fare over the next six months.
MORE - 'Unique' estate property with land abutting Blyth Estuary up for sale with guide price of £375kAbbey Farm, formerly known as Linstead Grange, is on the market for £1.8m and includes a five-bedroom farm house, two one-bedroom cottages and a range of amenity and equestrian buildings along with 58 acres of land. Planning consent has been granted for a new stables block together with an estate manager's home.
Braes Farm has a guide price of £2.2m and features a four bedroom property with a small range of agricultural buildings and two parcels of land totalling about 207 acres, a good proportion of which is light land suitable for growing root crops. It is available as a whole or in three separate lots.
"Both owners have decided to sell for retirement and relocation reasons and we're expecting plenty of interest - particularly as there isn't a huge amount of land available at the moment," said Mr Hargreaves. "Each farm offers different but rare opportunities and I think they will provide a good test of the market and give a strong indication of how we expect prices to perform for the rest of 2019.
"Abbey Farm is ideal for a lifestyle buyer, a lovely example of a ring-fenced amenity farm that offers a range of opportunities for its new owner, including a rental income from the two cottages. It's currently run exclusively as a stud farm but would be equally well suited to other livestock, with very high quality grazing set out in well maintained and fenced paddocks.
"Braes Farm meanwhile offers diverse farming opportunities and has recently been farmed under a rotation including onions. Properties like this don't change hands very often, so it's a real chance for a commercial buyer who wants to invest in land or a farming enterprise looking to expand its business."
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