QUALITY land held its value, but purchasers and vendors remain cautious, according to Knight Frank’s Scottish Farmland Index for 2016.
The firms’ report shows that the average value of Scottish farmland weakened marginally during the second half of 2016. Across the board, prices fell by just over 3% to £4223 per acre. However, there were marked variations depending on land type. 
Good arable land was the strongest performer with values remaining constant at almost £9050 per acre. Limited availability and continued demand from commercial farmers is putting a bottom in the market for blocks of productive soil. 
Lower quality arable/grassland, however, declined by 7% to £3659 per acre, while permanent pasture dropped 5% to £2582 per acre. This reflected a more uncertain outlook for the dairy and livestock sectors. Overall, prices declined by 3.5% in 2016.
The sharp land slide predicted post-EU referendum result was not as dramatic as feared and the market in the second half of last year remained resilient thanks to a lack of supply against strong demand. 
"Farmers are making up around 70% of the market and we are seeing most interest from Scottish national farmers," it said.
“That said, we haven’t seen any record breaking prices achieved in the past few months and there is certainly an air of continued caution in the market. The current market for farmland in Scotland is unusually hard to predict and analyse,” says head of Scottish farm sales, Tom Stewart-Moore.
“The main point for current and prospective vendors to note is that the market is highly price sensitive and correct valuation at the time of launch is key,” warned Tom. 
“Priced correctly, farms can still sell quickly and well.”