The amount of South West farmland on the market is up for the first time in three years.

Many farmers are opting to sell now the period of uncertainty over CAP reform has come to an end, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Since the deadline for CAP reform and Single Farm Payment, both commercial and residential farmland has become more available.

Some surveyors have expressed concerns that this could have a negative impact on prices in the year ahead.

But while prices fell for the second consecutive quarter countrywide, in the South West farmland prices have continued to rise, though not as quickly as at the turn of the year.

Alexander Rew of Stags in Exeter told South West Farmer: "The market leading up to May was extremely buoyant with plentiful land and farm sales at record values.

Subsequently there has been less trade but more farms are gradually coming to the market. The farmland market has not experienced the downturn evident in the pure residential sector but purchaser confidence is lower."

David Kivell of Kivells in Tavistock, Devon, said: "The availability of farms is on the increase although this seems to be more than matched by demand at the current time."

At Wells, in Somerset, Alistair Martin of Dreweatt Neate said: "Land values are holding up perhaps due to the shortage of supply on the market.

"Those farms with predominantly residential appeal are not quite as fervently sought-after unless the house is particularly interesting, in which case there is still a scramble to buy."

Figures from the RICS show that the average price for arable land has risen to £3,000 per acre, up from £2,850 last quarter and pasture rising to £2,750 per acre up from £2,500.

Demand for land has been rising at its slowest pace in almost two years, most apparent for residential farmland due to the negative impact of interest rate rises and a cooling housing market. Overall demand conditions remain firm, says the RICS.

In the South West, sales to non-farmer individuals continued to rise to 52% of the purchase share, up from 44% last quarter, whilst individual farmer activity fell to 36% of the purchase share, down from 45% last quarter.

The share of rural land bought by agricultural businesses, who are most likely to understand CAP reform, reached 8%, its highest level yet, but purchases by independent farmers fell. In the South West 4% of the sales were to agricultural businesses, down 1% from the last survey.

Surveyors in the region still predict general price rises over the coming year although a slight fall in the price of commercial farms.