Only seven dairy farms sold in the month of January, which the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (Reinz) described as alarming.
The month is normally a prime time for selling dairy farms.
"There is confidence amongst buyers in the rural sector and a lot of interest in farms but there appears to be a distinct lack of confidence from lenders," Reinz president Peter McDonald said.
Overall, the rural property market continued to dip in January.
The total number of farms sold in the three months to January 2010 was 208, down from 305 in the same period the previous year and 732 in the three months to January 2008.
There were 33 dairy farms sold in the three months to January, down from 40 in the same period last year.
The greatest number of farm sales during the three months to December was recorded in Waikato with 26 sales, followed by Manawatu and Wanganui with 24 sales recorded.