The farmland market in Wales has experienced an uptick during 2025, with improved buyer confidence and more choice supporting positive activity and stable values.
This is despite the challenging economic conditions and changes to government policy and support that have ratcheted up this year.
According to Savills research, by the end of October, 14,256 acres of land had been publicly marketed across Wales, which is 9% higher than in the equivalent period of 2024.
These levels buck the wider trend across Great Britain which has seen an -11% year-on-year decrease in supply over the same period. Wales now accounts for 8.9% of all farmland marketed across Great Britain – 0.5% higher than the five year average.
Market activity across Great Britain remains 18% above the average for January-October of the last five years. This is similar to the average seen during 2012-2016 – a period of typical market behaviour before Brexit, Covid, and the war in Ukraine – suggesting that the volume of land traded has returned to more normal levels.
Daniel Rees, head of rural and residential sales for Savills in South and West Wales, said:
“The market this year has been far busier than last when we seemed to be in the ‘trough’ of the current property cycle. Supply has been steady, with a greater number of smaller farms and blocks of farmland coming to the market. These have attracted interest from local buyers and from those further afield.
“There has been more buyer confidence in general and particularly for good commercial farms offering scale and infrastructure.
“Seller profiles have ranged from businesses consolidating existing farm structures and off-loading outlying units to others retiring with no successors.”
On average, farmland values in Wales have remained stable over the first three quarters of this year, with results varying by grade.
Daniel added:
“Prime arable land values in Wales held at £8,750 per acre, which compares to an average 2.1% value decrease across Great Britain. Prices for prime dairy have dipped slightly by -2.9% to £8,433, as milk prices ease.
“The strength of competition and prices achieved continues to vary widely, and therefore pricing strategy is critical to success.
“Policy developments remain a key influence,” continues Daniel. “Looking ahead, I can see a broadly positive market in prospect. We have some interesting farms on the market offering interesting leisure and diversification avenues, that are generating interest from both farmers and non-farmer investors alike.”
