More land came on to the market in Tipperary last year and the average price fell.

So the county bucked the general trend.

Tipperary landowners put up 99 holdings for sale, more than the 91 of the year before.

The total area that was offered for sale was 4,729ac, up from 4,181ac.

Average price in 2020 turned out to be €10,584/ac. That was down by €378/ac on the €10,962/ac of 2019.

It is a small decrease but only eight other counties saw average price fall.

Approximately two-thirds of the farms offered last year were small (that is 61 were under 40ac).

Some one-third were in the range of 40ac to 99ac (32 farms) and six were over 100ac. Thirty-six were residential, while the other 63 non-residential.

Private treaty continues to be the favoured route to market among Tipperary landowners, with 73 holdings offered this way.

Twenty properties were offered by auction and 13 of these sold under the hammer.

Six holdings were offered by tender.

Forty-three of the 99 properties that were offered were sold by year end.

Prices ranged from €3,800/ac to €31,600/ac which was a relatively wide spread. The total value of the land sold by year end was €21m.

Most of the farmland sold in Tipperary last year was bought by active farmers. Just one-quarter of the land sold went to the business category, which includes investors and all others not dependent on farming for their main income.

Dairy farmers

Dairy farmers were the big spenders in Tipperary in 2020, buying over one-third of the holdings that sold.

Drystock cattle farmers and mixed enterprise farmers were also active, buying one-third of the land sold.

Vital statistics

  • *Average: €10,584/ac
  • Acres offered: 4,729
  • Total number of farms: 99
  • Price range: €3,800/ac - €31,600/ac
  • Most active buyers: Dairy
  • Weighted average: €11,059/ac
  • *Based on 43 transactions