The average cost of an acre of grassland increased by 3.5% last year to €14,442 as land prices hit levels two-thirds higher than they had been just a decade previous, a new Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) report shows.
IPAV reported that it was dairy and investor activity in the land market that kicked prices on.
Its report put a €17,333/ac average price on the land sold in Leinster last year, an increase of just under 5% on 2024’s levels.
It was noted that investor demand is particularly influential in Leinster, although dairy competition for neighbouring plots remains strong.
Munster boasted a marginally lower average sale value of €16,100/ac as prices in the southwest softened 6.2% on the €17,162/ac they had seen the year previous.
Land price trends in Munster appeared to mirror the fortunes of dairy markets, having started the year strong but weakened into the back end of the year, the report states.
The sharpest rise in land prices of any province in 2025 was witnessed in Connacht as supply was steady amid “intense competition” for land.
Ulster was also reported to have witnessed a firming up of land markets in 2025 as prices there increased by 8.3%
The average price of an acre exceeded €10,600/ac in a 9.4% jump on 2024’s prices as it was suggested that “significant attention” was generated by “larger single-block farms” – indicating a strong interest from young new entrants to farming.
Ulster was also reported to have witnessed a firming up of land markets in 2025 as prices there increased by 8.3%.
The average cost of an acre of farmland in Ulster came to €13,667 last year as bidding proved particularly intense for farms with “good access and layout”.
Investor influence
The report flagged non-farmer investor interests as a major driver of the 2025 land market to the point that these buyers are considered the main determinant of land values in some areas.
It states that investor-type, non-farmer buyers scooped up over half of the offers hitting the land market last year in parts, with Co Sligo reported to have hit the 70% mark in this regard.
The activity of non-farmer business interests was on the rise last year. / Philip Doyle
Investors accounted for approximately 60% of the land sales in Meath, half of the purchases in Kildare, 43% of Tipperary’s transactions and 35% of the buyers in Galway.
“Non-farming business buyers see land as a safe, long-term haven of value and a mechanism for intergenerational wealth transfer, often shaped by confidence in the continuation of agricultural payments and reliefs,” the report’s author Jim O’Brien stated.
“In some areas this investor influence is now described as the primary driver of open market value formation, particularly for smaller parcels and well-located blocks.”
IPAV’s chief executive Genevieve McGuirk doubled down on this sentiment, saying that “increasingly investors view land as a safe asset and a mechanism for wealth transfer.”
The average cost of an acre of grassland increased by 3.5% last year to €14,442 as land prices hit levels two-thirds higher than they had been just a decade previous, a new Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (IPAV) report shows.
IPAV reported that it was dairy and investor activity in the land market that kicked prices on.
Its report put a €17,333/ac average price on the land sold in Leinster last year, an increase of just under 5% on 2024’s levels.
It was noted that investor demand is particularly influential in Leinster, although dairy competition for neighbouring plots remains strong.
Munster boasted a marginally lower average sale value of €16,100/ac as prices in the southwest softened 6.2% on the €17,162/ac they had seen the year previous.
Land price trends in Munster appeared to mirror the fortunes of dairy markets, having started the year strong but weakened into the back end of the year, the report states.
The sharpest rise in land prices of any province in 2025 was witnessed in Connacht as supply was steady amid “intense competition” for land.
Ulster was also reported to have witnessed a firming up of land markets in 2025 as prices there increased by 8.3%
The average price of an acre exceeded €10,600/ac in a 9.4% jump on 2024’s prices as it was suggested that “significant attention” was generated by “larger single-block farms” – indicating a strong interest from young new entrants to farming.
Ulster was also reported to have witnessed a firming up of land markets in 2025 as prices there increased by 8.3%.
The average cost of an acre of farmland in Ulster came to €13,667 last year as bidding proved particularly intense for farms with “good access and layout”.
Investor influence
The report flagged non-farmer investor interests as a major driver of the 2025 land market to the point that these buyers are considered the main determinant of land values in some areas.
It states that investor-type, non-farmer buyers scooped up over half of the offers hitting the land market last year in parts, with Co Sligo reported to have hit the 70% mark in this regard.
The activity of non-farmer business interests was on the rise last year. / Philip Doyle
Investors accounted for approximately 60% of the land sales in Meath, half of the purchases in Kildare, 43% of Tipperary’s transactions and 35% of the buyers in Galway.
“Non-farming business buyers see land as a safe, long-term haven of value and a mechanism for intergenerational wealth transfer, often shaped by confidence in the continuation of agricultural payments and reliefs,” the report’s author Jim O’Brien stated.
“In some areas this investor influence is now described as the primary driver of open market value formation, particularly for smaller parcels and well-located blocks.”
IPAV’s chief executive Genevieve McGuirk doubled down on this sentiment, saying that “increasingly investors view land as a safe asset and a mechanism for wealth transfer.”
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