Strong demand for land is creating opportunities for East Anglia's farmers, says Anne Barker, a Norwich-based partner at Brown & Co's land agency.

Demand for land continues to remain strong in our region, fuelled by a lack of available acres and relatively poor returns from other investments.

This has provided a breadth of opportunities for landowners, whether looking to capitalise on the buoyant overall market or those looking to explore niche opportunities.

The challenge we continue to face is the lack of supply, meaning that the majority of offerings, large or small, are quickly snapped up.

The strength in the market leaves unsatisfied buyers from a broad spectrum. While farmer buyers remain active, the majority of purchasers are non-agricultural, many of whom have a genuine interest in the sector and are looking to invest in land.

Non-farmer buyers can create added opportunities for vendors, with sale and lease-back or contract farming arrangements often being put in place.

For smaller offerings, of say up to 10 acres, landowners have been able to achieve exceptional results, benefiting from the increased demand for amenity land.

These purchasers are rarely from within in the agricultural industry but often people looking to invest in land for other reasons – glamping, camping, dog walking and wedding venues to name just a few.

Some people are buying land just to give themselves a piece of the countryside to enjoy and get closer to nature in a post-pandemic world.

Nothing brought home the almost frenzied appetite for buying land more than our recent online auction. A 1.75-acre plot of arable land in Salthouse went under the virtual hammer for a staggering £107,500 after 80 bids in just 24 hours. A similarly strong outcome was achieved in Methwold where a 6.8 acre block of paddocks achieved £138,000 after 44 bids.

In the wider land market, a new sector is developing with increasing numbers of enquiries from "green buyers" interested in the environmental opportunities of owning land.

Although the carbon, biodiversity and phosphate off-setting markets are not yet fully developed, there is no doubt that we will see the influence of these investors growing.

Variability in terms of value remains a key feature of the market, with arable land in our region going for between £8,000 and £12,000 per acre.

Demand for land in the broadest sense is both a challenge and opportunity for farmers and landowners – food production, development, woodland creation, carbon offsetting, energy projects, nutrient capture and environmental schemes all vying for a limited resource.