Selling agents in Connacht reported prices of up to €8,500/acre for land in 2022 in IPAV’s latest farming report, which the body launched last week.
The average price per acre of land in Ireland rose to €12,231 in 2022, up from 2021’s average value of €10,350/acre, according to its new ‘Farming Report 2023’.
The body, in its latest publication, has reported that there are “quite dramatic differentials” in the price of land, with values of between €7,000-€25,000 recorded across the country.
In the west of Ireland, agents who operate across the province reported that there has been a “significant” increase in land values for grazing, over the last year in particular, while demand for lands to leasing “remains very strong”.
Land sales in Sligo
In the report, Roger McCarrick from REA McCarrick, and Sons, based in Sligo, reported that the supply of lands for sale was “very tight” last year.
He added that land values jumped by approximately 8% in 2022, from €6,500 to €7,000/acre, which he branded as “significantly less than in some parts of the country”.
He predicts that farmers will move away from traditional activities, if in line with new CAP schemes “do not prove to be profitable”.
Roscommon
In neighbouring Co Roscommon, Re/Max Team Earley, reported that it saw the biggest demand from investors on the back of a guaranteed 3.5% return.
A spokesperson for the firm, which operates out of The Square in the county, commented that “it will be interesting to see if this continues as returns for alternative asset classes start to improve as a result of increased interest rates”.
Moreover, in terms of forestry lands, the firm also reported continued increases, which it believes comes in response to the availability of higher premiums for hardwood trees.
Last year, the company reported to have handed the sale of circa 40 farms, varying from 20-200-acres, with average values of €8,000/acre for grazing lands.
Gerry Coffey
Meanwhile, the body’s president, Gerry Coffey, Williamstown, Co Galway, reported that the value of marginal land “continues to increase”, on the back of new environmental methods of farming for poorer quality lands and increased premiums for forestry.
In line with the above agent’s commentary, Coffey confirmed that his firm has recorded “significant” increases in land for grazing with prices from €6,000/acre in 2021 to €8,000 last year, an increase of €2,000 in a twelve-month period.
He revealed that he has witnessed an increase in the quantity of land coming to the market as landowners “look to capitalise on a healthy market” and has also seen some farmers convert from conventional systems to organics.
Previously, on That’s Farming, we published an article from Coffey, who said: “I would like to see more young farmers getting access to land”.
