Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a good year for selling land with the average price of farmland up 15% nationally according to the Irish Farmers Journal’s annual 72-page county by county land price report which is published today (Thursday, 18 March). The average price of agricultural land rose by 15% to reach €10,316/ac – up from €8,971/ac in 2019. Significantly, this is the highest average land price figure recorded since the financial crash of 2008 albeit the number of acres of farmland offered for sale fell by 25.4% due to Covid-19.
The analysis by the Irish Farmers Journal shows:
- Price jumps 15%: The market stayed firm right through 2020 with an average price of €10,316/ac – this is a very significant increase, up by €1,345/ac or 15% on 2019. It was all the more noteworthy given that land prices have been treading water for the past five years, not moving far above €9,000/ac.
- Farmland offered for sale down 25%: Auctioneers reported concern among some landowners that their holdings would not make full market value and that landowners preferred to postpone selling until the pandemic was over. These were landowners who could choose when to place their land on the market.
- Farmhouses of growing interest: Demand for land with residences in 2021 will be watched with interest by auctioneers and landowners given reports of higher interest among city-based families in relocating to rural areas under new working from home arrangements.
- Auction versus private treaty: In recent years about two thirds of farmers put up for sale were offered by private treaty, with the other one-third going for public auction or tender. In 2020, a number of auctions were cancelled due to Covid-19, with the holdings then offered by private treaty instead. Last year 80% of the farms put on the market were offered by private treaty with just 17.8% going to auction – a 56% reduction.
- Most expensive counties: The three counties with the highest prices were Donegal, Kildare and Waterford.
- Kildare: In recent years Kildare has regularly been in the top three for price. Prices there are driven by proximity to Dublin. Expansion of towns in the county and the building of roads exerts upwards pressure on farmland in the county. The average price in 2020 was €16,446/ac – a significant increase on the €15,166/ac of 2019 and €13,621 of 2018.
- Waterford: Waterford has in recent years been mid-table. However, the average price in the county in 2020 was €16,367/ac. This was a huge increase from the €10,506/ac in 2019 and €10,446/ac in 2018. One factor behind the increase is the ongoing demand for farmland for dairying. A number of larger holdings were put on the market in 2020.
- Donegal: In recent years, Donegal has also sat mid-table or a little under it on prices. However, because of the quirks of 2020, the average farmland price increased to a massive €17,716/ac – this compares with €6,089/ac in 2019 and €7,688/ac in 2018. The jump in average price was because of the limited number of farms put up for sale.
- Cheapest counties: The three counties with the lowest prices in 2020 were Leitrim, Clare and Mayo.
The survey also shows that it is business people who were the big buyers. They were the buyers of 150 farm holdings, or 33% of the 455 for which the buyer is known to the Irish Farmers Journal. That’s well up from 2019, when business people made 20% of purchases
