Over €40,000/ac outside Gorey

Unzoned agricultural land made an extraordinary €41,000/ac in Creagh, near Gorey last Friday.

Thirty-seven acres of good-quality tillage land with future development potential made an exceptional €1.52m at auction.

The holding, divided into two lots, was bought by Patrick and Thomas Redmond, two local brothers who have business and farming interests. The brothers have property in Gorey, less than a kilometre away from where the sold lands are based.

According to auctioneer handling the sale, Denis Howell of Warren Estates, Gorey, while the non-residential holding is currently unzoned, there is little doubt that it has future potential to develop and this is more than reflected in the final price. That said, the purchasers are said to be using the lands for agricultural purposes until potential development opportunities are recognised.

The auction

The auction was a fascinating in itself. Divided into two lots, lot one was a 34-acre holding, while lot two was a three-acre parcel. Lot one opened at €500,000 and progressed in €10,000 increments until €540,000. It was then held and focus shifted to lot two. This offering began at €90,000 and was put on the market at €120,000. It then flew and was sold under the hammer at €270,000. Without stating the obvious, the €90,000/ac here is majorly representative of the hope value connected to the holding.

Lot number two is in the same boat. Held at €540,000,it was offered once more and flew all the way up to €1.14m, at which point proceedings were held and it was placed on the market. Lot two was eventually sold for €1.25m, or €38,000/ac, with significant hope value again involved. The property has been in tillage for the last number of years and was farmed by a family. However, the last member of the family to farm the land passed away recently, leaving the holding to be sold.

Almost 20k/ac in Cork

A top-quality field in Co Cork attracted heavy interest at auction recently.

Lands in Corrin near Fermoy in Co Cork sold for a substantial €19,400/ac at auction in the last fortnight. The small parcel encompassing circa 17 acres generated significant interest in the locality and this was evident at auction.

Bidding for the parcel opened at €170,000, or €10,000/ac, with four bidders actively bidding on the holding. The bidding ran in installments of €10,000 until it reached €260,000, at which point proceedings paused.

After consultation with the vendor, the land was put on the market. Bidding did not stop as further interest pushed the price up to €330,000, at which point the hammer fell. Auctioneer handling the sale Eamonn O’Brien of CCM Property, told Irish Country Living that the momentum in the auction room was great. The lands themselves did not include buildings. The final price represents a substantial sale, albeit small acreage.

Over €12k/ac in southeast

Wexford continues its good run of form as April approaches, with another solid sale under the hammer at auction in the last 10 days. This time, it was the turn of a circa 49-acre holding at Whitechurch, New Ross, that was put to the test at auction. Following on the trend of previous auctions in Wexford since February, the lands performed well, with just over €12,200/ac winning out in the end.

Offered in two lots and in the entire, bidding started for both lots before attention turned to the entire. Lot one, a 28-acre holding, opened its doors at €220,000, with two bidders bringing the price to €250,000 before it was held by auctioneer Anne Carton of PN O’Gorman.

It is believed a dairy farmer and a mixed farmer were bidding for lot one. The second lot, a 21-acre holding, was then offered to the room. A single bid of €200,000, believed to be placed by a dairy farmer in the locality, was all the activity this offering saw.

Focus then shifted to the entire. Carton offered this out to the room initially at €500,000 ,or €10,200/ac. After the lots were revisited and lot one’s bid reached €300,000 and lot two remained unchanged, the land was placed on the market. Bidding on the entire then went from €500,000 to €570,000, as two bidder battled it out.

The property was then placed on the market and knocked down at €600,000 to a local farmer, believed to be focusing on tillage and dairy.

The lands themselves were of very good quality. A third of the first lot was laid out in permanent pasture, while the remainder had been tilled. Both parcels contain excellent access and had dual road frontage.