The national average price paid for land in 2017 was €9,088/acre. This represents a 3.61% increase on the 2016 average of €8,771/acre.

The average price of land increased in an impressive 19 counties, with the biggest increase recorded in Laois at 22.1%, followed by Wicklow at 18.9%, Roscommon at 18.6% and Kildare at 17.6%. Seven counties experienced price increases greater than 10%.

Average values decreased in just seven counties, with the greatest reduction seen in Waterford at 22.3% followed by Donegal at 18.1%, Kilkenny and Monaghan, both at 10.2% and Wexford at 6.5%.

Ten counties recorded an average of €10,000/acre or more (compared with 11 in 2016). Eleven counties also had an average price of €8,000/acre or less (compared with 11 in 2016).

Kildare recorded the highest average price, at €14,020/acre, followed by Louth behind at €12,584/acre, closely followed by Dublin at €12,534/acre, Carlow at €12,178/acre, Wicklow at €12,060/acre, and Laois at €11,926/acre.

Leitrim had the lowest average at €4,586/acre, followed by Mayo at €5,995/acre, Roscommon at €6,100/acre, Donegal at €6,328/acre and Sligo at €6,373/acre.

Leinster recorded the highest average at €10,969/acre, followed by Munster at €9,402/acre, Ulster at €7,644/acre and Connacht at €6,227/acre.

Land supply rises

The amount of land brought to the market last year increased by 6.2% to 78,350 acres, compared with 73,778 acres in 2016. This is the first year supply has increased since 2014, where supply rose dramatically to 86,408 acres. In total, 33,864 acres were sold last year while 44,500 acres recorded on our land database did not sell

In all, 1,536 farms/land parcels were offered for sale nationally – this is down from 1,606 farms in 2016

Cork topped the table with the most land offered for sale, at 7,134 acres; surprisingly followed by Wicklow, at 6,893 acres; Mayo at 5,176 acres; Westmeath at 5,120 acres; and Tipperary at 4,933 acres.

Louth had the least land at 783 acres offered; followed by Waterford at 824 acres, Longford at 906 acres, Dublin at 1,135 acres and Carlow at 1,154 acres.

Though supply was up 6.5% nationally, the number of transactions fell in Ireland by almost 4.5%. In total, 768 land sales were gathered in 2017, down from 804 in 2016.

Anecdotal evidence from auctioneers did suggest that supply of land was down in many counties. Overall, supply dropped in 13 counties around the country, with Longford experiencing the biggest drop, down by almost 48%; followed by Louth at 44%; Monaghan at 39.4%; Cavan at 27%; and Limerick at 25.8%.

The remaining 13 counties recorded an increase in supply. Wicklow had the biggest increase in supply, with it more than doubling by 109.4%, followed by Mayo at 61.2%; Westmeath at 60%; Wexford with a 52.7% rise; and Sligo with a 38.4% increase.

Leinster had the most land offered for sale, at 33,689 acres; followed by Munster, at 22,720 acres; Connacht at 15,885 acres; and Ulster at 6,056 acres. When compared with 2016, Leinster and Connaught both supplied less acreage to the market, with Munster and Ulster both supplying more to the market.

Residential commanding premium price

There were 2% less residential farms offered for sale in 2017. In total, 36.2% of all properties were residential, while 63.8% were non-residential.

The price difference between residential and non-residential farms rose again in 2017, with a 13.2% price difference between residential and non-residential holdings last year. This is up from an 8.2% gap in 2016 from the year before.

The average price for residential farms was €10,100/acre – up 8.5% on 2016, when the residential average was €9,303/acre. The average price paid for non-residential farms was €8,654/acre – up marginally by just 1.3% 2016, when the non-residential average was €8,541/acre.

Meath was the only county where more residential holdings were offered than non-residential (47 residential compared with 40 residential); while Cork had the most residential holdings, with 67.

Private treaty preferred

Of the 1,536 farms that went to the market last year, 1,101 (71.6%) were offered for sale by private treaty. There is no doubt that private treaty was the cocktail of choice in terms of sales method in Ireland last year.

There were 410 public auctions in Ireland last year, which accounts for 26.6% of the total land offered. Tender saw a dramatic rise in 2017, with just two in 2016, this rose to 25 in 2017, albeit still only accounting for just 1.6% of total number of farms offered.

The success rate at auction was well back last year. In 2017, 46.6% of farms that went to auction successfully sold under the hammer, while 53.4% were withdrawn .This compares with a success rate of 52% in 2016 and a withdrawal rate of 48%.

In all, 410 properties were offered to auction in 2017, up slightly on the number of auctions in 2016, which stood at 405.

Westmeath is the only county in Ireland that saw a higher proportion of auction than private treaty sales in 2017, with 36 auctions in the county compared with 34 private treaties.

Auction is the preferred route in some counties, while private treaty is more prevalent in others. Meath had the highest number of farms brought to auction, at 42; followed by Tipperary at 37; Westmeath at 36; and Wexford at 27. Not surprisingly, Cork had the highest number of farms offered for sale by private treaty at 145; followed by Galway at 101; Roscommon at 94; and Tipperary at 71 farms.

Small parcels dominate again

Small parcels continued to dominate the market in 2017, with 62.6% of holdings comprising less than 40 acres. Farms of 40 to 99 acres accounted for 29.6% of the market, while those ranging from 100 to 199 acres made up just 5.7%. Farms greater than 200 acres accounted for only 2.1% of the market.

Smaller lots generated a slightly better price than big holdings. The average price paid for farms less than 40 acres was €9,103/acre – up 5% from 2016 figures, which stood at €8,707/acre. Interestingly, parcels over 40 acres fetched almost an identical amount as smaller parcels, making €9,064/acre, up 2% from the year previous. This shows that there is demand for larger parcels and willingness to pay in the market.

Cork had the greatest number of big holdings (greater than 100 acres) for sale, at 10; followed by Meath at nine; and Kildare and Wexford at eight apiece.

Galway had the greatest number of small holdings (less than 40 acres) at 93 properties; followed by Roscommon at 90; Cork at 85; Tipperary at 61; and Meath at 49.

Almost 770 completed sales

The 2017 national average of €9,088/acre is based on 768 completed sales sold by private treaty, public auction and tender. These transactions account for 33,864 acres recorded as sold, which represents 43.2% of the 78,350 acres offered for sale.

Of the 768 completed sales, 497 were private treaty results, which were critical in order to obtain a comprehensive overview of the Irish land market.

Public auction accounted for 191 transactions. A further 70 farms that were withdrawn at auction sold afterwards in a private deal. There were further 10 completed tender sales.

Leinster had the most land sold, at 13,911 acres; followed by Munster, at 9,731 acres; Connaught at 6,006 acres; and Ulster at 4,217 acres.

In terms of most sales recorded, Tipperary topped the table at 67; followed by Cork at 60; Galway at 59; Roscommon at 47; Meath at 45; and Limerick with 44 sales.

Waterford had the least amount of sales at seven; closely followed by Dublin eight; Wicklow at 12; Longford at 14; and Louth and Carlow with 15 sales.

Value of sales over €300m

The total value of land sales last year was €313m, up from €297.5m in 2016. With acres offered up, but acres sold down, the value of land has clearly risen in Ireland last year. This phenomenal amount of money highlights how vital land sales are to rural Ireland and to agriculture in Ireland. CL