The property market has received a timely boost with the news this week that Mount Falcon Station in the Upper Murray has been sold following post-auction negotiations by Inglis Rural Property and Colliers Agribusiness.
Previewed in The Land on August 8, the 2887ha Mount Falcon was submitted to auction on September 9 following a marketing campaign that drew more than 60 inquiries resulting in 23 inspections.
Passed in at auction, where it was expected to attract bidding in a range from $13.5 million to $15m, the 2887ha property has now been sold for an undisclosed price to an Australian family with Upper Murray interests.
Owned since 2011 by the China-based Union Agriculture, Mount Falcon was previously owned for 13 years by Sydney investor Sean Howard, and before that for most of last century by the Falkiner and Landy families in turn.
Situated near Tooma, in a region noted for its generous 750mm average rainfall, Mount Falcon has an extensive base of established perennial pastures, supporting an estimated carrying capacity of 20,000-23,000 DSE.
Under present ownership it has been managed as a large-scale cattle nursery, carrying 1000 Angus breeders rearing calves to feeder weights.
Improvements include fenced laneways, two sets of steel cattle yards, reticulated bore water system, manager's residence and the original pise station homestead built in 1934 by the Falkiner family.
Inglis rural property sales manager Sam Triggs said inquiry for Mount Falcon had been 'overwhelming', with buyers participating on the day from NSW, Victoria and Queensland as well as overseas bidders by telephone. He said the sale of Mount Falcon demonstrated the strong demand and depth in the market.
Wattle Flat sold
Another southern NSW sale of note was Wattle Flat, the Stockinbingal property of John and Patricia Angus since 2006, which was sold under the hammer on November 1 by Holman Tolmie of Cootamundra.
Five registered bidders lined up for the sale, which ended as a dual between two neighbouring landholders and a final price of $3m or $9063/ha ($3667/ac), slightly above pre-sale expectations.
Situated 14km east of Stockinbingal, the 331ha mixed farming property was described as 90pc arable, half sown to perennial pasture and half cropped in rotation to winter grain, oilseed, legume and fodder crops.
A flock of 600 Merino ewes, lambing to Merinos and White Suffolks, supplements the cropping program.
Structural improvements include a four-bedroom brick veneer home built in 2006, and a near-new two-stand Eco Enterac shearing shed.
Baerami House
Baerami House, the Upper Hunter heritage property previewed in these pages on October 17 - and featured today in our Rural Life section - was passed in at on-line auction last week by Meares and Associates.
The 322ha property, held for 17 years by Angus Neil-Smith and his wife Sally Blaxland, has now been listed for private sale with an asking price of $4.2 million.
Situated in the Baerami Valley 30 kilometres west of Denman, the property has been carrying up to 150 Angus cows and progeny on a mixture of native and improved pastures, including 79ha capable of irrigation.
Centrepiece of the historic property is its two-storey Georgian-style sandstone homestead, built in 1875 for Thomas Hungerford and faithfully preserved by subsequent owners.
Selling agent Chris Meares said there were only a limited number of historic rural properties with structures that had been maintained to the high standard of Baerami House.
He said in addition to the property's heritage features, it was significant that despite the drought, Baerami House could still turn off fat cattle from its irrigated pastures.
