The latest figures from the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand show the average selling price per hectare of farm land in the Bay of Plenty is down.

For the three month period ending April, the average selling price per hectare was $24,290.

This is down on the March period when it was $28,659, but is massively down on the April 2010 period when the price was $117,708.

There were 17 farms sold in the April period this year, with seven of them horticulture, six grazing, two forestry, one dairy and one finishing.

This is up from 13 sold in March, but well down again on the April 2010 period when 38 were sold.

There were 68 lifestyle blocks sold in the April period, with this steady with the March period when 62 were sold, but again down on last year's April period when 85 were sold in the Bay of Plenty.

The median sale price of these lifestyle blocks this year was $457,250, compared with $475,000 for the March period and $475,000 for the April 2010 period.