The land market powered on in Down last year, with the average price sitting at £17,103/ac. This represents a huge jump of 37%, or £4,595/ac, on the 2021 average of £12,508/ac. Down is the second most expensive county in NI for agricultural land and it also ranks in second place across the whole island. In both rankings, it sits behind Armagh.

There were 1,908ac of land advertised for sale in the Mourne County last year. This represents a minor increase of 69ac when compared to 2021 levels. Our figures indicate that the land area on the market in Down during 2022 equates to 0.48% of the county’s total arable and grassland area.

Overall, there were 85 separate pieces of land publicly for sale in Down last year, with the average lot standing at 22ac. This compares to 79 lots averaging 23ac the year before. Our records show that 19% of properties for sale in Down during 2022 included a dwelling house, with 81% of lots deemed non-residential.

The top land price recorded in Down was just over £39,000/ac for a 5ac block of farmland in the east of the county. A similar sized lot made £25,000/ac, which was the second highest price in our survey.

The lowest-priced lot was another small property, this time a 6ac block. It was located near the Mournes and made around £5,400/ac.

There were plenty of larger properties in our survey. For example, a block of prime agricultural land extending to over 100ac sold for almost £19,000/ac.

Only 8% of land sales in Down last year made under £10,000/ac and 29% made £10,001-£15,000/ac. Our survey found 42% of sales fell within the £15,001-£20,000/ac bracket and 21% of transactions equated to over £20,000/ac.

Average price: £17,103/ac (€20,056/ac)

Price range: £5,384/ac to £39,332/ac

Total area offered up: 1,908ac

Number of farms offered: 85

Average lot size: 22ac

Biggest farm offered: 107ac

Transactions surveyed: 24