The price of farmland has increased 10-15% this year in the west and south, on the back of stiffer competition between farmers and investors, multiple auctioneers have told the Irish Farmers Journal.

Prices across north and south Leinster are generally on a par with last year.

Tom Crosse of GVM Property Sales maintained that land prices in the mid-west had jumped 10% this year.

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“I’ve never had as good a year. I’d say we’ve had a 95% success rate at auctions,” he said.

Good grazing ground was freely making €15,000/ac, he said, while well-located holdings can make up to €20,000/ac. Heavier land with limited access is more difficult to sell, and prices can fall back to around €7,000/ac for these holdings.

In Cork, Eamonn O’Brien of CCM Property Network in Mitchelstown claimed that the average price for farmland has jumped by at least 15% this year to €18,100/ac.

A surge in the area of land going into solar farms, as well as fears around the nitrates derogation, were among the factors pushing up prices, O’Brien said.

Between €7,000/ac and €8,000/ac is being paid for semi-mature conifer plantations that are out of premium but are still 10 years or more from harvesting, he added.

Land prices have also increased in the west, with Ballina auctioneer, Billy Heffron, describing the land market as “flying”.

Heffron estimated that land prices in north Mayo and Sligo were 10-12% up compared to last year.

“Decent farmland” was generally making €12,000-15,000/ac, with €18,000-20,000/ac paid for exceptional places.

Planting-type ground is selling for €5,000-6,000/ac, with bogland making in the region of €1,300/ac, he added.

Around €10,000/ac is the “rule of thumb” in south Roscommon and east Galway, according to John Earley.

Forestry ground is making €7,000-8,000/ac, better quality grassland will get into €12,000-13,000/ac, while some “hot spots” will hit €15,000/ac, Earley said.

Investors

Investors have also been active in the market, Earley maintained, with 100ac blocks being sought by both forestry funds and dairy farmers.

“The 100ac block is magic,” he commented.

Land prices are holding in the southeast, albeit at the high levels hit in the back-end of 2024. Wicklow-Wexford auctioneer David Quinn said good-quality grassland was generally selling for €15,000-20,000/ac in north Wexford.

While Quinn admitted that the “high €20,000s per acre” was being paid for blocks of top-quality ground, he pointed out that the market was very area-specific and prices were not as strong in south Wexford or south Wicklow.

‘Buyers for everything’ in Meath

Stephen Barry of Raymond Potterton Auctioneers in Navan described the current land market as “very healthy, with buyers for everything”.

Putting an average on land in their catchment was not simple, he said, but €16,000-18,000/ac was the general benchmark at the moment.

However, Barry pointed out €30,000/ac has been paid for exceptional holdings which sparked local rivalry or outside interest.

Although prices have steadied this year, Barry estimated that the cost of good quality land had jumped €5,000/ac since 2022.

“There’s still serious demand out there and a diverse mix of potential buyers.

“And then there’s the same old problem that there’s been for the last 400 years – a shortage of supply,” he added.