Thursday, May 29, 2008

England's green and pricey land

From MoneyWeek:

It’s all doom and gloom in the British residential property market. By contrast, farmland values are rocketing at a record pace. In 2007 for example, prices rose by a whopping 25.3%, according to estate agency Knight Frank, posting the second-highest annual rise on record. As a result, an acre of farmland that only cost £3,000 three years ago can now fetch around £7,000, according to James Laing of Strutt & Parker.

But why has farmland – traditionally a money pit – suddenly soared in value? The obvious reason is the rising price of what is grown on it, including soft commodities such as wheat and corn. In addition, Irish and Danish farmers have helped to push prices up by buying British land in place of their own, which has now become too expensive....MORE