New national farm land price survey finds sales increased in 2014

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New national farm land price survey finds sales increased in 2014

Some interesting findings have come to light from a national survey of farm land prices, with strong growth in prices being shown in the South West – with Tipperary one of the most active counties for sales.

Thursday, 29 January 2015
12:10 PM GMT



More than €177 million is estimated to have been paid for farm properties in 2014, where more than 16,800 acres changed hands. These are among the findings in leading estate agents Ganly Walters’ latest national annual survey of farm land, published late last week.

The average price paid across the whole country for farmland in 2014 was €10,526 per acre - an increase of 0.01% from an average price of €10,401 per acre for sales in 2013. This 2014 average is 20% above the trough of €8,776 per acre recorded in 2010, but is still as much as 38.4% below the peak price of €17,081 per acre recorded in 2008.

STRONG INCREASES IN SOUTH WEST

Interestingly, both values and volumes of sales increased in the South West region covering counties Cork, Tipperary, Limerick and Kerry. Strong price increases of 24% were seen in the region with an average of €10,943 per acre for the 3,410 acres sold in these counties, the survey found.

More than 11,600 acres were brought to the market, and approximately 3,410 acres were sold in 57 transactions compared to about 3,000 acres in 36 deals in 2013. A further seven sales took place in 2014 but are not included in the survey because the price was not disclosed.

Prices averaged €10,943 per acre in 2014 compared to €9,204 per acre in 2013. These compare with a high of €19,946 in 2007 and a low of €7,911 in 2010.

However in Waterford, the price per acre fell 14.5% to an average of €10,226, with the South East and Western regions showing significant falls.

TIPP TOPS IN MUNSTER

County Tipperary was found to be one of the most active counties in the country, with 29 recorded sales and over 1,600 acres changing hands. The county alone averaged €13,023 per acre.

Not surprisingly, the Dublin/Kildare/Wicklow region continued as the most expensive area for farm land, with the survey showing that despite slipping by 0.02% in 2014, land in the region still averaged €14,064 per acre. The region’s 2014 price is the second highest seen since 2009 when it fell as low as €10,920. However, prices here are still as much as 54% below the peak of €30,543 seen in 2007.

MUNSTER

In Munster over 205 lots with 14,460 acres were brought to the market and 74 deals were done for 4,650 acres. The average price paid in this region in 2014 was €10,713 per acre, an increase on the €9,171 per acre in 2013.

In the 20-49 acre category there were 33 sales giving an average of €11,404 per acre. The next category was 50-99 acres where 21 sales took place and the average was €10,291 per acre. Nine sales took place in the 100-199 acre bracket giving an average of €10,603 per acre.

Commenting on the findings, Robert Ganly, MD of country specialist estate agents Ganly Walters, says that last year was also the busiest since 2011. “With 16,849 acres changing hands in 2014 that’s a 25.4% increase on 2013 levels,” he adds.

Much of the increased activity was seen in smaller parcels of land while fewer large farms came to the market and sold in 2014.

“At a time of uncertainty in the beef and dairy sectors, stable land prices can provide some assurance to those farmers seeking land in order to attain productivity increases,” he concluded.

The price trend and value of the market is based on the prices disclosed from 212 sales, both auction and private treaty, in which 14,241 acres were transacted at a combined value of €149.9 million.



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