Land Report: prices hit record high in Antrim

The average price paid for agricultural land in Antrim hit a record high last year. At £10,578/ac, the county average is up by £721/ac, or 7.3%, on 2019 levels.

Antrim has overtaken Tyrone as the third most expensive county to buy land in NI. It ranks 12th across the island of Ireland, which is the same position as 2019.

Our records show that 2,484 acres of land were publicly advertised for sale in Antrim last year. This is 414 acres less than 2019 and is 1,223 acres lower than 2018 levels.

The total area offered up during 2020 equates to 0.58% of the county’s overall arable and grassland area.

There were 90 parcels of land on the market in the Saffron County during 2020. This makes the average lot 28 acres in size, which is the same as the NI average.

The lower supply of land, coupled with increased demand, pushed prices up in Antrim last year.

The other key factor was that more good-quality land was on the market during 2020, which meant higher selling prices made up a larger proportion of the sales in our survey.

The top price recorded was just over £19,000/ac, paid for a 12ac block in the south of the county. The lowest price was £4,500/ac for over 60 acres of land near the border with Derry.

However, it was not just smaller lots that sold for big prices per acre. For example, a farm that was over 50 acres in size and located near the north coast sold for close to £16,000/ac last year.

There is a wider range in land prices in Antrim, compared to most other NI counties. While almost 40% of sales fell within the £9,000/ac to £12,000/ac bracket, one-quarter of transactions were within £6,000/ac to £9,000/ac, and a similar proportion made over £12,000/ac.