Land supply and prices have swung up and down in Mayo in recent years. Last year, both came down with a bump.

The number of holdings put on to the market was just 15, down sharply from the 45 of 2020. The total area involved was 1,115ac, also down sharply from 3,371ac the previous year.

Only 10 of the 15 farms sold by year end. The average price was €4,813/ac, down from €6,290/ac in 2020. The drop was €1,477/ac. Size didn’t matter much. Price for farms under 40ac was €5,171/ac and for those over 40ac it was €4,660.

The farms for sale varied widely from relatively small parcels of good-quality, flat grassland to larger holdings of land suited to forestry planting or rough grazing.

Given the variation in farm type, there is usually a wide range of prices in the county. Last year, the top price was €9,110/ac, paid at auction for a 23.5ac holding near Ballycrop, sold by Sherry Fitzgerald Crowley.

The lowest price was €1,235/ac which was paid for land with a mix of forestry and scrub near Ballyhaunis. One of the holdings sold was large. This was the 517ac hill farm at Derrypark and Glen, which was successfully sold by private treaty by Savills. The property included six houses.

We cannot publish the sale price but have used it in our calculation of the average price.

The business category has been the most active buyer of farmland in Mayo in recent years. Last year, three-quarters (75%) of the farms sold were bought by these buyers who can be part-time farmers or self-employed business owners. This is the highest such figure of any county. The remaining holdings that sold were split between dairy and mixed-enterprise farmers.