Land prices increased by €590/ac to an average of €12,515/ac in 2024, the Irish Farmers Journal Agricultural Land Price Report 2024 has revealed.

Analysis of over 24,800ac of farmland sold in 2024 showed that price per acre increased by 5% on average compared to the previous year.

The amount of land sold on the open market fell by 13% compared to 2023.

The most expensive land sold last year was in counties Dublin, Wexford, Meath and Louth. In Dublin, the average price was €25,490/ac on a small acreage.

Average land prices fell in a number of dairy counties including Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Kerry and Waterford.

The lowest prices paid were in counties Leitrim, Mayo, Donegal and Sligo.

Dairy farmers were active buyers of land throughout the year. So, too, were part-time farmers of all types, helped by their off-farm income.

Businesspeople keen to enjoy living on 10ac to 25ac also snapped up some farms.

Leases

Meanwhile, Irish Farmers Journal analysis of over 2,200 newly registered leases in 2024 shows that the cost of long-term agricultural land leases averaged €205/ac.

The average size of registered leased farms was 53.4ac last year.

For more, see the Agricultural Land Price Report 2024.