Wine producers lead property sell-off

Billions of dollars worth of rural property is up for sale across Australia and agents say the number of listings has doubled since last spring as large companies, particularly wine producers, look to reduce debt.

According to The Australian Financial Review, it has been a bumper year for listings, with agency Colliers International saying it has doubled the number of big commercial farming properties on its books.

Colliers is now marketing 39 properties with a book value of $250 million, up from 20 properties worth $110 million before spring.

The firm's annual rural and agribusiness report says the main driver of the sales are the refinancing issues being encountered by corporate Australia and the drought.

A report from Colliers noted the long list of properties available for sale out of the failed Great Southern and Timbercorp collapses but said it was the mass of vineyard properties up for sale that has blown out the number of listings.