Just under €13,000/acre near Athy

It was a very successful auction for joint agents Jordan Auctioneers and John Osborne of Leinster Marts last week, with the sale of the 60-acre residential farm at Springhill, Ballinabarna, Athy, Co Kildare. The property was offered for sale in three lots, with active interest from the floor. The first lot comprised a detached bungalow, in need of refurbishment, on circa 31 acres. Bidding opened at €300,000, with four active bidders ensuring this quickly rose to €551,000.

The second lot of circa 29 acres was located across the road. This parcel was all laid out in permanent pasture and contained no buildings. Bidding began at €150,000 and rose to €220,000. It was to go in the entire, with an offer of €772,000 proving enough to see the hammer drop, with the buyer believed to be local. This equates to a price of just under €12,900/acre. Commenting after the sale, Auctioneer Paddy Jordan said: “Land around the Athy area always tended to generate substantial interest, which was perhaps a result of the strong and ambitious farming base.”

Elsewhere is Kildare

A 34-acre non-residential property with an address at Baronrath, Straffan, Co Kildare, was withdrawn at auction. The property comes with excellent road frontage along the main Straffan-to-Kill road and and is currently all in pasture. Located in one block, the property is surrounded by mature hedgerows. Bidding on the property opened at €450,000 and climbed to €500,000 (€14,700/acre), at which point it was withdrawn. Negotiations with the highest bidder ensued, with a substantially higher bid believed to have been made, but a deal is yet to be struck. Philip Byrne of REA Coonan is handling the sale of the property.