Land prices in Armagh continue to defy gravity. The average price paid for land in the county during 2022 stood at a staggering £19,775/ac, up £3,150/ac or 19% on 2021 levels.

It is no surprise that across the island of Ireland, Armagh has re-gained top spot in the rankings of county average land prices.

Even though the area of land on offer in the Orchard County rose by 89% last year, it continues to have the smallest acreage for sale across all NI counties.

During 2022, there were 1,352ac of land publicly advertised for sale in Armagh, which is 639ac more than the year previous.

When taken as a proportion of its overall grassland and arable area, our records show that 0.6% of the agricultural area in Armagh was advertised for sale last year.

There were 49 parcels of land offered up in the county during 2022. This makes the average lot size 28ac, which is significantly larger than the 2021 average lot size of just 16ac.

The top price recorded in our survey was just over £38,500/ac for a 4ac block. Over £28,500/ac was paid for a 20ac block in the middle of county and a residential farm in the north made the equivalent of £25,000/ac when a valuation for the house was deducted.

The lowest price recorded in Armagh was £11,000/ac. It was paid for a 9ac lot laid out across two fields in the north of the county. One of the other lower prices was £12,000/ac for a 20ac lot near the border with Monaghan.

As outlined, low prices are not a typical feature of the Armagh land market. Over 80% of the sales in our survey made over £15,000/ac and the remaining 18% made between £10,000/ac and £15,000/ac.

Average price: £19,775/ac (€23,189/ac)

Price range: £11,000/ac to £38,611/ac

Total area offered up: 1,352ac

Number of farms offered: 49

Average lot size: 28ac

Biggest farm offered: 220ac

Transactions surveyed: 27