Over €13,500/acre in CAVAN

A 14-acre plot of land had a difficult start to auction last week, before a strong finish saw it reach over €13,500/ acre. Located near, Crossdoney, Co Cavan, interest has been shown prior to auction. No parties jumped in early, as proceeding opened at €130,000. It was when auctioneer handling the sale Eamonn Gaffney of Eamonn Gaffney Auctioneers put the property on the market at this price that brisk bidding ensued. The holding was forced up in increments of €5,000, as two individuals battled for the parcel. Finally, the hammer dropped at €190,000 and the holding was bought in trust. It is believed that it was purchased by a local business, who has a property close to the land.

The land itself is said to be good grazing ground on the banks of the river Ern. It also contains road frontage. The price of €13,571/acre was a wonderful result, making it almost double the county’s average, which is almost €6,700 an acre.

Two further lots were also offered by Gaffney. The first of these was a 20-acre residential site in Drummury, near Crossdoney. Opening at €30,000, the property was bid to €41,000, before it was sold at this price. This parcel of land was described as very marginal, with half of the land hilly and the other half low-lying. It was previously farmed by a suckler farmer. The residence is currently derelict, with complete renovation needed. The two-bedroom bungalow is located in a laneway off the main road. The property finished at just over €2,000/acre.

The final lot, or lot number three on the day, was an 11-acre parcel. Located in Kilvally near Crossdoney, this holding finished at over €4,100/acre. The property opened at €20,000, as two bidders fought it out. Gaffney quickly brought bidding up to €30,000 and at €36,000 the property was put on the market. Finally, €46,000 was squeezed out and the holding was sold.

The land itself is in need of attention, with TLC needed to unlock the potential here. It was purchased by a young start-up farmer in the area.

Overall, the three parcels made €277,000 and averaged €6,156/acre.

€10,000/acre in midlands

A well-attended auction saw a tidy 40-acre holding sell for €400,000 in Westmeath. The property, which contains a residence, was competitively pursued by three bidders on the day.

Bidding opened at €300,000, with the aforementioned bidders quickly driving that up. At €390,000, auctioneer Dillion Murtagh of Murtagh Bros paused proceeding to consult with the vendors. One more bid was placed at €400,000 and the property was placed on the market and sold. Offered in one or more lots, it was sold in the entire.

The residence on the property is a four-bedroom home with a two-bedroom granny flat attached. The house is in need of modernisation. It has been rented out for the guts of the previous decade.

Located in Loughnavalley, circa 14km from Mullingar, the farm is described as good-quality, free-draining land. Well fenced, the fields are laid out in three neatly divided paddocks. It also contains road frontage onto a regional road.

Irish Country Living understands that the buyer was a beef and sheep farmer from up the country. The under-bidder was a young local farmer and the second under-bidder was a man from Longford, who bought land in the area circa 18 months ago.