Auctioneer David Quinn was light on his feet at the Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey on Tuesday 11 August as he refereed a fierce contest between six bidders – three online and three in-room – for a 106ac farm in Banogue, Gorey, Co Wexford.
Guided at €17,000/ac, the farm – including a yard and the ruins of a derelict period house – was offered in three lots:
Lot 1 hit the ground running, opening with an online bid of €560,000. A second online bidder countered, followed by an in-room challenge, and the 45ac parcel closed at €800,000.
Lot 2 followed, opening at €700,000 and rising to €900,000, where it held.
Starting at the combined €1.7m, the entire saw a brisk 60 seconds of bidding between online and in-room bidders pushing the price to €1.95m, with the highest bid in the room.
“The gap is there to be filled now, in the room or online”, said David Quinn, as he opened a second round on the individual lots. They failed to surpass the entire total, and it was decided to proceed with lot 3, though it remained short of its reserve.
Reigniting the competition for the entire, one of the in-room bidders re-entered with a €2m bid, and the exchange continued to €2.25m, where the property was declared on the market.
“It won’t be available in a few minutes”, said David Quinn as he called for further bids. With no advance, the hammer came down to an in-room bidder, believed to be a prominent neighbouring dairy farmer who purchased the holding as an extension to their existing enterprise.
The sale price represents just over €21,000/ac, which is 23% higher than the average county price according to the Irish Farmers Journal Land Report.
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