Land prices have risen by 8.3 per cent over the year taking the average price to over £10k per acre in the last six months of 2014.

That's a record high for 11 months in a row, according to the latest RICS/RAU Rural Land Market Survey. During the same period in 2013 an acre cost, on average, £9,294.

Despite anecdotal evidence that the recent fall in commodity prices is starting to temper the pace of demand, particularly for smaller areas of land in all parts of the country, prices are expected to continue to rise over the next 12 months.

The increase in demand from lifestyle buyers that began in the second half of 2013 continued throughout the whole of 2014 with this trend being noticed across most parts of the UK. RICS said that this is adding to price pressures and keeping price expectations in positive territory in all areas.

Anecdotal evidence also seems to suggest the continued presence in the market of investor purchasers seeing land as a safe haven. Across the UK the supply of commercial farmland has remained flat or decreased in nine of the ten areas, while demand has continued to grow in all but one part of the UK.

According to surveyors, average annual arable land rents decreased in the second half of 2014 for the first time in six years but remain 0.8 per cent higher over the year. Pasture lands rents, on the other hand, rose by 3.4 per cent in the first half and by 7.8 per cent over the year to reach £107 per acre.

The highest annual price growth in the UK was seen in Scotland, despite uncertainty driven by the referendum and CAP review. Prices in Scotland rose almost 17 per cent over the year, although at just £4,375 per acre, prices in Scotland are still 47 per cent below the national average with the price of pasture land at least 40 per cent cheaper than any other part of the UK.

RICS said that it remains to be seen whether the recent announcement on plans to overhaul tenant farming will have any effect on land prices. ‘Although there are a number of potential issues on the horizon which may have an impact on confidence, including land reform and the implementation of CAP review, surveyors remain optimistic that prices across Scotland will continue to rise over the next 12 months,’ said Sarah Speirs, director of RICS Scotland.