The farmland market in Wales saw an impressive uplift in supply during the first half of the year, with 85 per cent more acres marketed to the end of June than in the same period in 2020, according to Savills.

"In this respect it was one of the strongest performing markets across Great Britain, which experienced an average increase of 58 per cent more farmland advertised for sale," said Daniel Rees, head of farm agency for Savills in Wales.

"The majority of supply was in south west Wales, where 3,760 acres of land were marketed, followed by 1,157 in Powys and 926 in south Wales.

The analysis indicates a considerable swing in comparison to the last couple of years, which has been running at a lower supply across Great Britain.

Mr Rees says this may suggest previous uncertainties surrounding trade deals and the transition to a new agricultural payments system are making way for renewed confidence, allowing farmers to make informed business decisions.

"It will take time for this more positive sentiment to be fully reflected in supply," he added.

"The surge in lifestyle-driven buyers in search of a bucolic country lifestyle continues to make its mark on the market in Wales, with more non-farmer buyers looking for land for amenity use, as well as corporate buyers and investors, interested in poorer quality agricultural land with the potential for environmental schemes or woodland planting.

"The associated competition is, in turn, holding up the value of these land types.

"Overall demand, based on our applicant numbers, remains strong across all land types and uses. The pool of potential buyers is growing more rapidly than before, with 28 per cent more registered across GB at the half year point compared to the same period in 2020. There are a number of buyers with rollover funds to invest and commercial farmers seeking quality farms.2

The average value of land in Wales increased by 2.5 per cent to £5,331 per acre to end of June. Of particular note was the rise in the value of prime arable land by 2.5 per cent to £6,920 per acre which compares to a GB average increase of 0.9 per cent (to average £8,900 per acre) for the same period.

"With the additional detail of how the farming industry may look over the next few years, we anticipate supply will not increase as fast as originally anticipated," said Mr Rees.

"Market outlooks are positive, and farmers will take time to process and review how the changes occurring in the industry affect their businesses.

"Our expectation is that value drivers remain largely unchanged, although amenity land is likely to continue to outperform other farmland this year as we settle into the post Covid-19 pandemic way of life and the environmental agenda encourages further investment into rural assets."