A total of €476.5 million was spent on agricultural land sales in 2021, with the average price per acre estimated to be €7,501, according to latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Monday, May 22).
The majority of land sold in 2021 was permanent grassland and the average size of a land sale in the year was estimated to be for around 16.6ac.
Arable land fetched a much higher average price – €14,756/ac – compared to permanent grassland which sold for €7,309/ac in 2021.
The latest CSO report highlights that Dublin and the southeast (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford) were the most expensive areas in 2021 to buy agricultural land.
Average prices for Dublin were in the region of €38,863/ac compared to the southeast where land fetched an estimated €11,118/ac.
According to Viacheslav Voronovich, statistician with the CSO, the average price of both arable and pasture land increased year-on-year in 2021 with arable land prices jumping by 22.6% above the price paid in 2020.
Voronovich said: “Land was most affordable in the west (Galway, Mayo and Roscommon) region, where the median price was €5,327/ac.
“The volume of sales was the highest in the west region, where 12,217ac of agricultural land changed hands, while only 482ac were sold in the Dublin region and 5,035ac in the southeast.”
The latest CSO report, Agricultural Land Prices 2021, shows that only 2,353ac – 4% – of arable land was sold in 2021.
The remaining 56,292ac (96%) of agricultural land during the year was permanent grassland.
Although the total value of land sales in 2021 was €476.5 million – which represented an increase of 42.3% on the €334.9 million recorded in 2020 – the majority of sales were for permanent grassland.
According to the CSO, arable land accounted for €47.9 million or 10.1% of the total value of sales in 2021, while €428.6 million, 89.9% was spent on permanent grassland.
The mid-east region, including Louth, Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, spent more than any other part of the country on agricultural land – €91 million in total compared to only €17.8 million spent in the Dublin region and €52.1 million in border areas.