Report finds significant increase in agricultural land sales in Cork and Kerry during 2021
However, CSO report finds the median value of land in south-west region fell slightly when compared to 2020 prices
Stock image. Photo: Getty
Graphic courtesy of the Central Statistics Office.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have revealed a significant increase in the volumes of agricultural land sold in the south-west of the country, which covers Cork and Kerry, during 2021 when compared to the previous year.
However, the figures contained with the CSO’s Agricultural Land Prices Report (2021), also showed slight decrease in the median price paid for agricultural land in the region when compared to 2020.
The CSO said the median land price is the middle value of a list of transactions when sorted in order of price per acre.
The advantage of taking the median price overt the mean price is that it is not skewed by very large or very small values, giving a better idea of the typical value.
The report showed there were 510 transactions in the south-west over the course of the year involving, 9,099 acres of land, compared to just 38 transactions during 2020 involving 605 acres of land.
The figures showed the median price paid for agricultural land in the south-west during 2021 came in at €8,161 per acre compared to €8,500 in 2020 – representing a drop of almost 4%.
The CSO report showed the total value of land sold in the south-west during 2021 came in at €76,928,525.
Nationally, the CSO figures showed total value of land sales across the State amounted to €476.5 million in 2021, an increase of 42.3% on the €334.9 million figure recorded in 2020.
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A total of 58,645 acres of land sold across the country in 3,541 transactions over the course of 2021, representing an increase of 20.8% on the figure of 48,538 in 2020.
The median transaction size was 16.6 acres of land.
Of the total amount of land sold during the year, 56,292 acres was permanent grassland (pasture), which sold at a median price of €7,309 and accounted for 90% of overall transactions.
Just 2,353 acres of arable land was sold, commanding a significantly higher median price per acre of €14,756.
The overall median price paid for land across the State came in lower than that seen in the south-west region at €7,501, which was in turn higher than 2020 price of €6,987 per acre.
The report found that purchasers in Dublin and the south-east (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford) paid the highest median price per acre at €38,863 and €11,118 respectively.
At the other end of the scale the west (Galway, Mayo and Roscommon) recorded the lowest median price per acre at €5,327.
The volume of sales was highest in the west where 12,217 acres of agricultural land changed hands, while Dublin recorded the lowest amount at just 482 acres.
The mid-east region (Louth, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) recorded the highest spend on land at €91 million, with Dublin coming in at the lower end of the scale at just €17.8 million.
