The average price paid for agricultural land in Antrim rose by 14% last year to sit at £12,322/ac. It represents an increase of £2,419/ac on 2021 levels.

Despite that, Antrim has moved down a spot in the NI county rankings to sit in fifth place and ranks 13th across the island of Ireland, which is the same position as the year previous.

Our records show that 2,604ac of land were publicly advertised for sale in Antrim last year. This is 315ac less than 2021. The total area offered up during 2022 equates to 0.61% of the county’s overall arable and grassland area.

There were 87 parcels of land on the market in the Saffron County during 2022. This makes the average lot 30ac in size.

The tighter supply of land helped push prices on in Antrim last year. There were also fewer lots of poorer-quality land on the market. This ensured that higher prices for sales of good-quality land made up a significant volume of the transactions in our survey. The top price recorded was £26,667/ac. It was paid for a 20ac block of agricultural land in the east of the county which could have future development potential. The lowest price was £3,974/ac for 15 acres of heavy land in the middle of the county.

It is notable that the market is on the rise in the Glens, which historically has had some of the lowest prices in the county. For example, a 5ac lot in the Glens went for over £16,500/ac last year.

Half of the transactions in our survey for Antrim fell within the £10,001-15,000/ac bracket. Only 7% of sales surpassed £20,000/ac, although a quarter fetched between £15,001/ac and £20,000/ac. We found that 18% of sales in Antrim were agreed at prices below £10,000/ac.

Average price: £12,322/ac (€14,450/ac)

Price range: £3,974/ac to £26,667/ac

Total area offered up: 2,604ac

Number of farms offered: 87

Average lot size: 30ac

Biggest farm offered: 290ac

Transactions surveyed: 28