€10,000/ac becomes the baseline as strong prices continue to be paid

While some auctioneers report a shortage of land for sale, in general the ground making it to the auction rooms continues to sell well.

A 25ac farm owned by Gavin Duffy of Dragon’s Den fame made a solid return for the investor when sold for €377,000 or €15,000/ac under the hammer of Thomas Potterton last week.

Beside Bellewstown Racecourse and 12km from Drogheda, the holding produced a crop of potatoes in 2021 and is currently under winter wheat.

Laid out in two divisions it has road and river frontage to Newhaggard Lane and the River Nanny.

It sold to a telephone bidder, a businessman from outside the area.

80ac at Loughbawn Lake makes €805,000

At the same auction Mr Potterton sold an 80ac non-residential farm overlooking Loughbawn Lake on the Meath-Cavan border for €805,000.

At over €10,000/ac it well exceeded its guide of €8,000/ac.

The versatile farm, 7km from Collinstown and 11km from Oldcastle, is laid out in large divisions with road frontage in two places and serviced by an internal roadway.

The yard has a two-column loose shed with cattle-handling facilities.

It sold to a local businessman with farming interests. 

West Wicklow land sells for €15,630/ac

A 62.7ac holding at Ballyrahan, Tinahely, Co Wicklow sold in two lots (of 20.5ac and 42.2ac) at David Quinn’s auction last week, making a combined €980,000 or about €15,630/ac.

Situated 4km from the villages of Tinahely and Shillelagh with plenty of road frontage, the farm was part of a larger dairy holding and described as good-quality ground suited to crops or grazing.

The 20.5ac sold for €410,000 to a local farmer, while the 42.5ac went for €570,000 to a local dairy farmer.

 

Wexford parcel doubles pre-sale guide price

In another auction Mr Quinn sold a 13ac piece of ground at Skeeter Park, Bargy Common, 3km from Cleariestown, Co Wexford for €200,000 or €15,400/ac — almost double the pre-sale guide of €8,000/ac.

The land is in two grass fields with plenty of road frontage.

34ac Tipp farm makes €620,000

In a sealed bid sale conducted by Matt Ryan, a 34ac residential holding at Mount William, Kilfeacle, 7km from Tipperary town, made €620,000.

It had been guided pre-auction at €500,000.

The roadside holding is made up of grazing lands in three fields, a three-bedroom house in good condition and a small farmyard of a three-column haybarn with lean-to, a milking parlour, a dairy and a cow byre.