Land prices in Armagh jumped to unprecedented levels last year. The average price paid for land in the county during 2021 stood at £16,625/acre, up £2,711/acre or 19% on 2020 levels.

Across the island of Ireland, Armagh comes second in the rankings of county average land prices, with Dublin sitting in top spot.

The Orchard County continues to have the smallest area of land offered up for sale across all NI counties. During 2021, there were just 714 acres of land publicly advertised for sale in Armagh. This is 10% more than 2020 levels and is 6% higher than the area for sale during 2019.

Although Armagh is the smallest county geographically in NI, it still has the tightest supply of land for sale when taken as a proportion of its overall grassland and arable area. Only 0.32% of the agricultural area in Armagh was advertised for sale last year.

There were 43 parcels of land offered up in the Orchard County in 2021. This makes the average lot size 16 acres, which is the smallest across all NI counties.

The tight supply is key factor driving land prices in Armagh. The top price recorded in our survey was just over £39,000/acre for a six-acre block. Although this land is only zoned for agricultural use at present, it could have development potential in the future, and this was clearly reflected in the price.

The lowest price recorded in Armagh was £10,000/acre. It was paid for a 35-acre block in the north of the county and was paid a second time for a separate 10-acre block in the same area.

Low prices are not a typical feature of the Armagh land market. Over half of the sales in our survey made over £15,000/acre and only 16% made less than £12,000/acre.