The Country's Jamie Mackay is joined by PGG Wrightson's General Manager for Rural Real Estate Peter Newbold, to take a look at the rural property market this month.

Mackay asked if the rural market was as hot as the residential market.

Newbold said that, although the rural market wasn't as hot, there was renewed interest, with buyers out there perusing rural properties.

Also, for the first time in a number of years, there was an increase of property value, Newbold said.

Dairy properties were becoming of interest as their yield grew, and Newbold reported that he was starting to see movement in the "bottom-end." He anticipated more demand as time went on.

Currently, the returns for dairy farming were much better, compared to sheep and beef, Mackay said.

"There is a little bit of activity in that space, but I think it is going to be tight. The returns are too good and people are holding on to them," Newbold said.

Mackay said he'd heard that some residential property prices in provincial New Zealand were doubling in price over a short period of time - in places such as Tapanui.

Newbold confirmed this and said that statistics reflected high property value increases in some provincial New Zealand towns, compared to larger metropolitan areas.