There was almost no change in the value of land in Co Kildare in 2013, which is a little surprising, especially when you consider that a number of properties towards the backend made €15,000/acre or more. The average price paid for land in the county last year was €13,114/acre – only mildly up on the 2012 average of €13,043/acre.

Supply was down by 6.6%, with 4,575 acres offered for sale in 2013 compared with 4,898 acres in 2012. However, with 42 transactions recorded, it’s clear there was no shortage of activity with some fine properties arriving on the market, many of which commanded top dollar.

Prices ranged from €4,600/acre for a small parcel in permanent pasture to a top of €30,700/acre which was paid at auction for a 13.5-acre piece of land situated at Moyglare, Maynooth.

Other farms that sold at auction included 23 acres near Kilcock which made €200,000, or almost €8,700/acre; 62.5 acres at Moyglare, Maynooth which sold under the hammer for €870,000 or €13,900/acre; 39 acres at Newberry, Kilcullen, sold for €650,000 or €16,600/acre; a 44-acre residential property at Lullymore, Rathangan made €320,000 or €7,200/acre; 66 acres outside Naas went under the hammer for €1,000,000, or €15,100/acre; a 65.5-acre tillage farm at Inch, Athy made €990,000 or €15,115/acre ; 30 acres near Kildare town averaged €11,000/acre or €330,000 and a small 13.5-acre plot of land at Tipper Road, Naas sold for €305,000 or €22,600/acre.

Two of the bigger farms that sold at auction were stud farms. These included Great Connell Abbey Stud, Newbridge, which stands on 125 acres, and was knocked down at €1.7m or €13,600/acre, while the well-known 103-acre Grangemore Stud, The Curragh, Co Kildare sold for €3m or €29,100/acre. 11 properties made €15,000/acre or more but a further 11 farms made €10,000/acre or less.