The Land has today launched Prime Land where journalist Samantha Townsend and Ray White Rural agent George Southwell talk all things agricultural real estate.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - G'day and welcome to the first installment of Prime Land.
00:08 I'm Sam Townsend from the land,
00:10 and I'm here with George Southwell of Ray White Rural.
00:13 And we're here to talk to you about all things real estate.
00:16 - We've got it all, what's hot, what's not,
00:18 prices per acre, succession planning,
00:20 and everything in between,
00:21 with a bit of the commodities and markets
00:23 thrown in there too, Sam.
00:25 - Now let's get into it.
00:26 (upbeat music)
00:28 - George, can you recap 2023 for us?
00:30 - Certainly, Sam.
00:31 Obviously commodity prices played a huge part
00:34 in what was going on.
00:35 Interest rates, a little bit as well.
00:38 Not the main driver though,
00:39 it was a bad weather prediction at the end of last year
00:42 that really knocked us around.
00:43 However, our price per hectare
00:46 hit an all time record high of $7,000 a hectare.
00:49 - Wow, that's incredible.
00:51 - It is incredible, and there was some big sales too, Sam,
00:53 which was really, really good to see.
00:54 We had Muldoon Downs, which was transacted by JLL.
00:57 Jeff Warren are leading the sale there.
00:59 Up at Inverell, that $80 million sale for 20,000 acres
01:03 went to Hancock Agriculture.
01:05 So that was awesome to see.
01:06 - Can you tell us about any other sales?
01:08 - Yeah, certainly.
01:09 Jemelong, the crown and the jewel down there
01:11 on the Hay Plains.
01:12 That $85 million sale was transacted by Danny Thomas
01:16 at Lord.
01:17 33,000 acres, a beautiful, beautiful property.
01:20 But it was interesting, Sam, to note
01:22 who bought that property.
01:23 - Who was it?
01:24 - Well, it went from Neville and Hans to Canadian Interests.
01:27 We had a Chinese-backed company also purchase
01:30 a big, big property, Gundaline.
01:33 Very famous.
01:34 It sold on the Murrumbidgee River down there
01:36 for $120 million.
01:37 And that foreign investment,
01:38 while it isn't the strongest form of interest
01:40 we're seeing at the moment,
01:41 it's starting to filter back in,
01:43 especially with China reopening up to Australian products.
01:47 - George, how's the sales kicking off for 2024?
01:49 - Look, it's a bit early, Sam.
01:50 I know you're eager.
01:51 - Oh, we're all eager to find out what's going on.
01:52 - Everyone's eager.
01:53 But look, the talk around the traps is
01:55 that agents are out there and they're talking
01:57 to a lot of people about making decisions
01:59 about selling in autumn.
02:00 - Yes.
02:01 - Obviously, we're seeing those commodity prices.
02:03 They're starting to affect people's confidence again
02:05 and get things going in the new year.
02:07 Interest rates on hold for a second Reserve Bank meeting
02:10 in a row.
02:11 I'd say we're in for a really, really busy autumn.
02:13 So be able to open up that land
02:15 and go to the property section
02:17 and there'll be plenty of purchases to be made.
02:19 - And obviously, we've seen some cracking rainfalls out,
02:21 especially in those parts like Mingen.
02:23 Is that playing a big factor on people
02:25 putting their places on the market?
02:27 - Look, rainfall always affects people in a positive way,
02:30 Sam.
02:30 The biggest, biggest effect though
02:32 is those commodities coming into it.
02:34 The banks are still lending, so that's good to see.
02:36 And tied in, all those three factors tied in
02:39 and the rainfall.
02:40 I mean, it's just beautiful at the moment.
02:42 It's green on the side of the road
02:43 and it's the middle of February.
02:45 - And who's buying?
02:46 - Look, who is buying?
02:47 Good question.
02:48 We're seeing a little bit of interest coming back in
02:50 from those foreign markets.
02:51 Obviously, China's opened up as well,
02:53 which is good for the Australian market,
02:54 but we can't ignore the locals either.
02:56 We saw Rob Southwell from Southwell Property.
02:59 - Oh, yes.
02:59 - Yeah, out there at Gunnedah.
03:00 So, he sold Kensal Green and Buran Park,
03:04 713 hectares, cotton property there
03:07 for 18 and a half million under the hammer.
03:09 The under bidders at that auction though
03:11 were people from outside the local area.
03:13 So, the biggest trend though that needs to be noted
03:16 is that it is corporate family farmers, as I call them,
03:19 second or third generation.
03:21 They're going through their succession planning
03:24 and that means that they're either expanding
03:26 or decreasing the size of their farm.
03:28 (upbeat music)
03:30 - Well, that's Crime Lounge for this week.
03:32 Thanks for that comprehensive wrap, George.
03:34 - No trouble, Sam.
03:36 - Until next time.
03:37 (upbeat music)
03:39 (beep)
03:43 - Just as nice to be in there, aren't I?
03:44 - Yeah, good, isn't it?
03:45 - How far was it to you?
03:46 - Only five hours, just down the road?
03:48 - Yeah, about eight hours, not too far.
03:50 - Not too far at all.
03:51 - I'll tell you what though,
03:51 in these jackets, it's pretty warm out here.
03:53 - It's a bit warm.
03:54 That Macquarie River, she's got a fresh in it, Sam.
03:57 I think I might take advantage of it and go and have a dip.
04:00 - I don't blame you.
04:01 (upbeat music)
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04:09 you