Mortgagee sales are becoming an increasingly common theme in the New Zealand wine industry, as vineyard owners are forced to put their properties up for sale.
The latest victim of the glut and economic downturn has been Clansman Vineyards, which had holdings in both the Wairarapa and Marlborough.
A quick website search of real estate agent, Bayleys, shows that in the last 6 weeks River Farm in Marlborough has gone on the market. Another mortgagee sale of a 167ha vineyard site 7km outside of Blenheim is also on the books, as well as pages of vineyard sales throughout the country.
Wineries that are handling the downturn could grab a bargain: estate agents report land prices have halved in the past four years plus interest rates are also relatively low, making it seem like a good time to buy. But who has the money to invest? Planting has come to a virtual standstill and inflation is high.
And foreign investors will be put off by the strong dollar – it’s value has increased by more than 30% in value in the past two years against the British pound, and 20% against the US dollar.
Then again, anyone who invests in a vineyard needs their heads checked in my opinion.
