SOME bare land values may have declined slightly at the end of 2005 but the New Year had brought a strong demand for farms from the lifestyle buyer, a demand which was not fulfilled due to lack of availability in the market place, according to Charles Arkell, of Humberts' Bourton office.

Mr Arkell said the average price for farmland at the end of 2005 was five per cent less than the beginning of the year but still stood at a remarkably high level of £3,779 an acre, 66 per cent more than ten years ago. It was, however, based on a total of only 259 transactions, the smallest ever sample collated by the RICS Rural Land Market Survey.

He explained: "Continuing uncertainty over the new CAP payments system is cited as being the main cause of this restricted activity. It should be noted also that the majority of sales were once more to purchasers not previously engaged in farming, who not only draw upon resources from outside agriculture but are also less dependent upon subsidy payments.

"Now that these payments are finally being made and as the mechanisms for transferring entitlements become more clear, it is likely that the farmland market will see some increase in activity during the forthcoming spring and summer seasons."