There was a significant reduction in the volume of agricultural land offered for sale in Co Carlow last year. Just 659 acres arrived on the market – down by a whopping 41% on 2012. Interestingly, this plummet in supply didn’t cause prices to surge. The average price paid for land in Carlow last year was €11,143 – up by only 4.4% on the average for 2012 (€10,675/acre).

Prices ranged from €7,500/acre for a piece of land that required some attention to a top of €17,273/acre for a small roadside parcel with a house on it. The top price paid at auction was also €17,172/acre, which was given for a well-located (partly zoned) 24.7-acre parcel situated on the outskirts of Tullow town and this was knocked down at €425,000.

It’s clear that these two top prices significantly contributed to the overall average for Carlow last year. Our analysis shows that of the 10 sales recorded in the county last year, six farms made €10,000/acre or less, which would indicate that the €17,000/acre price tag is an exception as opposed to the norm.

Other prices achieved at auction included €10,000/acre for a 22-acre roadside parcel near Bagenalstown; €11,400/acre for a 28.5-acre block of land near Myshall and almost €12,500/acre for a 10.8-acre piece of ground at Tinryland.

One of the bigger farms that sold under the hammer was a 65.1-acre residential holding at Kilbride which made €630,000 or €9,600/acre. However, private sales were also completed at €9,200/acre (30 acres); €8,800/acre (12 acres) and €7,700/acre (35 acres).

Just 19 farms were offered for sale of which 12 were under 40 acres and seven comprised 40 acres or more.

It was clear that the smaller parcels commanded the best prices with the average for less than 40 acres at €12,353/acre while the equivalent figure for farms extending to 40 acres or more standing at €9,677/acre.