Dairy farm prices have fallen sharply from a year ago and sales volumes are also down.
The Real Estate Institute says its Dairy Farm Price Index fell 24 percent in the three months to April.
It was down three percent from the prices achieved in the three months to March.
The Index adjusts for differences in farm size and location.
Sales of dairy farms were down by almost 50 percent in the three months to April, with 52 farms sold compared to 97 in the three months to April 2015.
The Institute says dairy farm sales were down 22 percent in the 12 months to April.
But farm prices are holding up overall.
The All Farm Price Index rose 0.6 percent in the three months to April, compared to the same period last year.
The Index rose 0.7 percent in the three months to April, compared to the three months to March.
The median price per hectare for all farms sold in the three months to April 2016 was $30,000 compared to $28,668 recorded for three months ended April 2015. That was a rise of 4.6 percent.
REINZ Rural spokesman Brian Peacock says sales volumes are easing as the market heads toward winter.
"Strong prices for the reduced number of quality farms on offer during April indicates an underlying level of confidence, albeit tinged with a degree of caution, this being a consistent trait throughout the country."
He says there was "record demand and prices for weaner beef cattle, a substantial increase in the contract price for organic milk from Fonterra for those few farmers fortunate enough to have persisted with organic supply, and widespread demand for land suitable for growing manuka for future production of honey."
Newshub.
