Ray White Rural's year in review

THE rural market in 2018 has been one of the shining lights of hope in an industry riddled with gloomy predictions and hyped up talk of crashing property prices.

Ray White Rural’s year has been one of facilitating standout sales across the country including Guyra’s Tenterden Station which sold under the hammer for $17 million at auction in October, and the Queensland Government’s offloading of 14 properties which grossed just under $30 million.

Ray White Rural Queensland sales agent Peter Douglas managed the three stage former Glendower Dam project auction campaign.

Another highlight out of the Ray White Rural Queensland team was Jez McNamara’s sale of the 2,340ha Sunnyside at Esk for $10 million.

“The market has been quite strong right throughout the year,” Mr Douglas said.

“The rain at the start of spring certainly helped things along, as it did nationally across the larger rural networks as well. We continue to see strong numbers at our open farms and good clearance rates at our auctions.”

Ray White Rural Queensland principal Bruce Douglas agreed, noting buying enquiry in particular had been strong.

“The way the cattle market is and with the grain prices, it’s all very positive,” he said.

November was an exciting month for Ray White Rural South Australia’s Geoff Schell and his team, who managed the $11.65 million auction of Calcannia.

The sale of the 905ha property (pictured above), which had been held in the same family name since the 1840s, set a price per hectare record for the Clare Valley.

“We had outstanding enquiry from all over Australia with over 70 enquiries taken for Calcannia, and it’s a massive sale result for our region,” Mr Schell said.

“South Australia’s had a mixed year season-wise, as many areas suffered tough conditions but the really good areas, even in drought, performed. We handled seven rural auctions through the spring period and sold every one under the hammer for above vendor expectations, some achieving up to 20 percent above vendor reserves.”

Mr Schell, who works with his son and business partner Daniel, believed 2019 would also provide positive results.

“We’ve been working to get property ready for autumn and we’re optimistic we’ll see continued strong results,” he said.

“I don’t think it’ll will kick further but we’re quite confident with the demand.”

In Western Australia’s Kojonup, a rural cropping property (pictured above) sold in three parts this year for a total of more than $25 million through Ray White Rural WA’s Steve Vaughan and Michael Batchelor.

Marketed as “one of the most prominent mixed farming opportunities in Australia”, Hyfield, Crossburn and Yaralla are within the 'golden triangle', which developed its reputation from early settlement due to its location, reliable rainfall, soft summers, and excellent mixed soils on gently undulating well-drained hills.

“It’ll come as no surprise that the months of July, August and September were slightly down across the eastern states due to prolonged drought,” Ray White Rural and Livestock CEO Stephen Nell said.

“Vendors seldom want to sell when their property does not look at its best, but discerning buyers do continue to operate in these dry times. Nonetheless, as a company, we had eight months this year that were company personal bests, including our first time breaking the $200 million mark in turnover in May.“

This year, Ray White Rural and Livestock sold more than $1.6 billion in farmland and more than 1.3 million head of livestock.

“The farmland market has been buoyed by institutional investment across a variety of commodity types, and it was pleasing to see the local farmer purchaser ratio was also strong,” Mr Nell said.