102 acres of Sligo farmland sells for €1.12m
There is rising interest in the purchasing of farm land in the West.
A 102-acre parcel of land in Tubbercurry, which came with a disused house and farm buildings, has sold for more than €1 million.
The property at Castleloye went to auction with the sale handled by Ballina-based Property Partners Garrett Loftus & Associates.
The land was offered for auction first in individual lots and the highest bids were recorded. Then the property was offered for sale as one lot and two bidders were identified. When the hammer was finally dropped the entire property was sold at €1,120,000.
Liam Brady, of Property Partners Garrett Loftus, said there was significant interest in the auction.
“A farm of that magnitude would be rare in today’s market. Usually, it would be 20-30 acres that would be up for sale. The bigger farms don’t usually come up that often,” said Mr Brady.
He said the big money sale is indicative of an increase in interest in agricultural land in the West.
“The market for farmland at the moment is very strong. The demand is out there. Some people are buying to extend their holdings and there are others who are purchasing farmland as tax breaks which they can rent back to farmers tax-free. People are looking at the land as an investment not just as a farming enterprise. That wouldn’t really have been heard of years ago.
“People are looking not so much at the location but on the return they can get on their investment,” he added.
Mr Brady estimates that in this region, farmland is selling for an average of €8,000 to €12,000 per acre.
“That’s what land is achieving. Compared to five years ago the demand for farmland has increased 100%."
The Annual SCSI/Teagasc Agricultural Land Review and Outlook, published in April, stated that the average value of non-residential agricultural land nationwide in 2023 was €9,297 per acre, which is an increase of 11% from €8,368 per acre in 2022. The national average value of good quality land was €12,308 per acre, up 10% from €11,172 per acre in 2022, with the national average poor quality land reported at €6,286 per acre, up 13% from €5,564 per acre in 2022. In Mayo, good quality land was valued at €10,850 per acre in the survey and €9,325 per acre in Co Sligo.
