Grazing properties accounted for the largest number of farm sales in the three months to September, according to latest figures from the real estate institute, accounting for 45 percent of all farm sales.
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Real Estate Institute Rural Spokesman Brian Peacocke said together with finishing properties - horticulture and arable - those property types made up 92 percent of sales for the quarter.
Mr Peacocke said spring sunshine, warmer temperatures, good prospects for beef and lamb, and the slow turnaround in the dairy industry were combining to lift morale in the rural sector.
"There's quite strong interest for good quality properties still, but the volumes... are a little bit tight or the numbers that are on the market (are tight)," Mr Peacocke said.
"There have been very few confirmed sales of dairy farms in particular so it's hard to get a handle on where their market is, excepting that there's a feeling there may be a continuation on from last season - and if there's an adjustment at all in pricing, then it won't be major on the good properties, it may be a little bit more on the properties that are other than the top end."
"Across the country there's been for September only a handful of dairy farms that have sold, and not sufficient to give us a clear indication of what the market's going to do price-wise."
He said beyond that, there was a general perception that the market will hold for the good properties.
"Strong demand for good sheep and beef properties throughout the whole of the country... In the past there's been quite a lot of support for the sheep and beef farms from the dairy farmers, but the dairy farmers don't appear to be buying at all in that category so it's existing sheep and beef farmers who are supporting that market and it's pretty solid throughout the country."
