Last gasp bidder secures small package in Co Laois
“I had counted three times. I had my hand in the air about to drop the hammer. As I was about to let it fall, I caught the eye of a new bidder at the back of the room who waved his finger,” Joseph Coogan of Coogan Auctioneer and Valuer of Castlecomer explains.
“I said to him ‘are you bidding sir? Are you bidding?’”
He was bidding. And living dangerously at the same time. As the hammer was about to fall at €240,000 or over €12,900/ac for an 18.5-acre holding located at Crannagh, Ballyadams in Co Laois, a new bidder entered the fray at €240,500 or €13,000/ac.
A bidder left it late to buy this 18.5-acre paddock for €240,500, or €13,000/ac, in Crannagh, Ballyadams in Co Laois recently.
The last second bid bought the property and seemingly broke the spirits of the other bidders. Whether by mistake or design, the high-risk tactic worked. The individual got the farm.
The farm in question was a lovely beef farm that is all in one block. Currently in grass, it is good Laois ground. There was no residence or buildings in the offering.
The auction, which took place a few weeks’ ago, was held in Coogans auction room. There were 12 in attendance and of those, three bidders got stuck into the early bidding. Opening at €180,000 or €10,000/ac, the property increased quickly to €220,000 before the auctioneer put it on the market. Two bidders remained.
From here, the holding took 10 more bids. It went up in €1,000s before it reached €239,000. At this point, according to Coogan, a dairy farmer dropped off.
Two brothers in the locality had now the prize within their sights at €240,000. As the auction drew to a close, it seemed that the deal was all but done.
“Are you bidding sir? Are you bidding?”
For the most part, Meath has seen a very strong auction season. Competition between farmers has been high and the auction room has been vibrant. With the exception of a few disappointing auctions, 2018 has been a success for the county using this method of sale.
It is the price, however, that has made the auction very interesting in the county. Of the 15 auction sales, 10 have made €10,000/ac or more.
Raymond Potterton Auctioneers is one such auctioneer who has benefitted from this strong performance in 2018. They sold the 105 acres in Belreask near Carlanstown for €920,000 or €8,800/ac to well-known dairy farmers in the area in recent weeks. They successfully sold numerous lots in Oldcastle in early summer which performed well and 42 acres in Mountainpole near Kells was bought by a dairy farmer for €470,000 or almost €11,200/ac in June.
Last month another auction by Potterton gathered legs before settling under the hammer for a fine price. Circa 84 acres in Staholmog near Carlanstown sold under the hammer for €924,000 or almost €10,900/ac. The farm, which was offered in three lots, was put to auction at Pottertons showrooms in Navan.
The lots
The first lot was the largest of the offering. Encompassing 71 acres, the ground here was of excellent quality and arguably the best-quality land on the farm. Containing road frontage onto the N52, it is described as arable land.
Bidding for this lot opened at €600,000 or just under €8,500/ac. Three bidders looked to purchase as the bids flew up in increments of €10,000s and €20,000s. Before long, the price increased to a solid €750,000 before Stephen Barry, the auctioneer handling the sale dropped the gavel. The final price stood at just over €10,500/ac for this lot.
The second and third lot were far smaller. Lot two was a seven-acre parcel of land. Described by Barry as good grazing ground, it would be seen as slightly heavier than lot one and lot three. With two bidders entering the race eventually, bidding was not as brisk at lot one. Opening at €50,000 the price reached €62,000 at which point it was sold under the hammer.
The third lot contained the same similar high-quality to that of the first lot. Located slightly away from the two previous holdings, this seven-acre parcel contained some very good quality arable land. Bidding for this small block was far zippier than it was for lot two.
Opening at €60,000, three bidders saw it rise swiftly to €105,000 at which point there was a pause. Put on the market at this stage, there was one further burst that saw it sell under the hammer at €112,000 or €16,000/ac.
It is believed that the buyer of the second and third lot is a beef farmer while there was multiple purchasers of the first lot.
The land was sold by a farmer with farming interests elsewhere.
Businessman outbids local farmers
Two disappointed local farmers left the auction room in Meath recently as a businessman from outside of the area outbid both to secure an attractive 21-acre farm in Coalpits near Slane. Also offered by Raymond Potterton, Navan, the land received interest prior to auction.
Circa 21 acres at Coalpits near Slane in Co Meath sold for €216,000, or just over €10,000/ac, as a businessman outbid two local farmers for the land.
Consisting of 21 acres, the holding was previously owned by a hobby farmer. Opening at €120,000 or just under €6,000/ac, the three eager bidders drove the price forward. However the two local farmers left empty handed as a businessman from outside of the locality swooped in to buy the parcel. Containing good road frontage onto the N2, the farm has some good grazing ground.
Withdrawal in Meath
In contrast to the successes in the county, a 46.5-acre holding in Halltown, Dunderry offered by Smith Harrington failed to sell at auction. The holding did not generate the interest on the day and was withdrawn.
This nicely laid out farm is now being offered by private treaty and has received enquiries since.
€8,500/ac in Roscommon
Gerry Coffey had to earn his corn at an auction in Roscommon last week. The experienced auctioneer offered the 32-acre residential holding located in Ballinalough Co Roscommon in five lots including the entire. In doing so, he had to offer, hold and re-offer many of the lots, before a final price of €273,000 or just over €8,500/ac was achieved. In the end, it was the four individual lots which gathered the highest price and were sold.
The first lot is circa 13 acres of land with a three-bay slatted shed, loose box and a two-bay hayshed, cattle yard and crush. According to Coffey, the land here and, indeed, throughout the farm is good quality. Bids for this lot was a seesaw affair. Opening at €70,000, it went to €95,000 before being held by Coffey as he moved onto the next lot. Upon return, it flew to €115,000 but was not finished there. In a turn of events, another bidder entered the fray and drove the price up to €130,000 before last minute bids saw lot one settle at €137,000 or over €10,500/ac.
The 32-acre residential property Ballinalough on the Mayo-Roscommon border is up for auction on 27 July.
The second lot is 10.5 acres of roadside land. This opened at €40,000 or just under €4,000/ac and received one bid. It was sold to a dairy farmer. Lot number three contains over eight acres of ground and it sold for €25,000 or over €3,000/ac. Lot number four is a three-bed bungalow with just under an acre of land. This opened at €50,000 and two bidders bought the price over €70,000, with the hammer dropping at €71,000. The fifth lot, the entire, received a bid of €170,000. The final price exceeded the pre-auction guide of between €7,000/ac and €8,000/ac. The auction took place at Campbell’s Pub in Ballinlough.
Last gasp bidder secures small package in Co Laois
“I had counted three times. I had my hand in the air about to drop the hammer. As I was about to let it fall, I caught the eye of a new bidder at the back of the room who waved his finger,” Joseph Coogan of Coogan Auctioneer and Valuer of Castlecomer explains.
“I said to him ‘are you bidding sir? Are you bidding?’”
He was bidding. And living dangerously at the same time. As the hammer was about to fall at €240,000 or over €12,900/ac for an 18.5-acre holding located at Crannagh, Ballyadams in Co Laois, a new bidder entered the fray at €240,500 or €13,000/ac.
A bidder left it late to buy this 18.5-acre paddock for €240,500, or €13,000/ac, in Crannagh, Ballyadams in Co Laois recently.
The last second bid bought the property and seemingly broke the spirits of the other bidders. Whether by mistake or design, the high-risk tactic worked. The individual got the farm.
The farm in question was a lovely beef farm that is all in one block. Currently in grass, it is good Laois ground. There was no residence or buildings in the offering.
The auction, which took place a few weeks’ ago, was held in Coogans auction room. There were 12 in attendance and of those, three bidders got stuck into the early bidding. Opening at €180,000 or €10,000/ac, the property increased quickly to €220,000 before the auctioneer put it on the market. Two bidders remained.
From here, the holding took 10 more bids. It went up in €1,000s before it reached €239,000. At this point, according to Coogan, a dairy farmer dropped off.
Two brothers in the locality had now the prize within their sights at €240,000. As the auction drew to a close, it seemed that the deal was all but done.
“Are you bidding sir? Are you bidding?”
For the most part, Meath has seen a very strong auction season. Competition between farmers has been high and the auction room has been vibrant. With the exception of a few disappointing auctions, 2018 has been a success for the county using this method of sale.
It is the price, however, that has made the auction very interesting in the county. Of the 15 auction sales, 10 have made €10,000/ac or more.
Raymond Potterton Auctioneers is one such auctioneer who has benefitted from this strong performance in 2018. They sold the 105 acres in Belreask near Carlanstown for €920,000 or €8,800/ac to well-known dairy farmers in the area in recent weeks. They successfully sold numerous lots in Oldcastle in early summer which performed well and 42 acres in Mountainpole near Kells was bought by a dairy farmer for €470,000 or almost €11,200/ac in June.
Last month another auction by Potterton gathered legs before settling under the hammer for a fine price. Circa 84 acres in Staholmog near Carlanstown sold under the hammer for €924,000 or almost €10,900/ac. The farm, which was offered in three lots, was put to auction at Pottertons showrooms in Navan.
The lots
The first lot was the largest of the offering. Encompassing 71 acres, the ground here was of excellent quality and arguably the best-quality land on the farm. Containing road frontage onto the N52, it is described as arable land.
Bidding for this lot opened at €600,000 or just under €8,500/ac. Three bidders looked to purchase as the bids flew up in increments of €10,000s and €20,000s. Before long, the price increased to a solid €750,000 before Stephen Barry, the auctioneer handling the sale dropped the gavel. The final price stood at just over €10,500/ac for this lot.
The second and third lot were far smaller. Lot two was a seven-acre parcel of land. Described by Barry as good grazing ground, it would be seen as slightly heavier than lot one and lot three. With two bidders entering the race eventually, bidding was not as brisk at lot one. Opening at €50,000 the price reached €62,000 at which point it was sold under the hammer.
The third lot contained the same similar high-quality to that of the first lot. Located slightly away from the two previous holdings, this seven-acre parcel contained some very good quality arable land. Bidding for this small block was far zippier than it was for lot two.
Opening at €60,000, three bidders saw it rise swiftly to €105,000 at which point there was a pause. Put on the market at this stage, there was one further burst that saw it sell under the hammer at €112,000 or €16,000/ac.
It is believed that the buyer of the second and third lot is a beef farmer while there was multiple purchasers of the first lot.
The land was sold by a farmer with farming interests elsewhere.
Businessman outbids local farmers
Two disappointed local farmers left the auction room in Meath recently as a businessman from outside of the area outbid both to secure an attractive 21-acre farm in Coalpits near Slane. Also offered by Raymond Potterton, Navan, the land received interest prior to auction.
Circa 21 acres at Coalpits near Slane in Co Meath sold for €216,000, or just over €10,000/ac, as a businessman outbid two local farmers for the land.
Consisting of 21 acres, the holding was previously owned by a hobby farmer. Opening at €120,000 or just under €6,000/ac, the three eager bidders drove the price forward. However the two local farmers left empty handed as a businessman from outside of the locality swooped in to buy the parcel. Containing good road frontage onto the N2, the farm has some good grazing ground.
Withdrawal in Meath
In contrast to the successes in the county, a 46.5-acre holding in Halltown, Dunderry offered by Smith Harrington failed to sell at auction. The holding did not generate the interest on the day and was withdrawn.
This nicely laid out farm is now being offered by private treaty and has received enquiries since.
€8,500/ac in Roscommon
Gerry Coffey had to earn his corn at an auction in Roscommon last week. The experienced auctioneer offered the 32-acre residential holding located in Ballinalough Co Roscommon in five lots including the entire. In doing so, he had to offer, hold and re-offer many of the lots, before a final price of €273,000 or just over €8,500/ac was achieved. In the end, it was the four individual lots which gathered the highest price and were sold.
The first lot is circa 13 acres of land with a three-bay slatted shed, loose box and a two-bay hayshed, cattle yard and crush. According to Coffey, the land here and, indeed, throughout the farm is good quality. Bids for this lot was a seesaw affair. Opening at €70,000, it went to €95,000 before being held by Coffey as he moved onto the next lot. Upon return, it flew to €115,000 but was not finished there. In a turn of events, another bidder entered the fray and drove the price up to €130,000 before last minute bids saw lot one settle at €137,000 or over €10,500/ac.
The 32-acre residential property Ballinalough on the Mayo-Roscommon border is up for auction on 27 July.
The second lot is 10.5 acres of roadside land. This opened at €40,000 or just under €4,000/ac and received one bid. It was sold to a dairy farmer. Lot number three contains over eight acres of ground and it sold for €25,000 or over €3,000/ac. Lot number four is a three-bed bungalow with just under an acre of land. This opened at €50,000 and two bidders bought the price over €70,000, with the hammer dropping at €71,000. The fifth lot, the entire, received a bid of €170,000. The final price exceeded the pre-auction guide of between €7,000/ac and €8,000/ac. The auction took place at Campbell’s Pub in Ballinlough.
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