The price per acre for farmland appears to be stabilising in some provinces and slightly increasing in others, according to the latest Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)/Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook 2019.
The SCSI/Teagasc review provides an in-depth analysis of key agricultural farmland market trends in 2018 and provides an outlook for 2019.
It provides insights on agricultural land values, rents and views on anticipated agricultural land market activity levels over the next 12 months.
And, according to the data supplied to the report, the national average price of agricultural land which included a residential holding was €10,326/ac (€25,515ha); while the average national price per acre for agricultural land without a residential holding was €9,554ac (€23,608ha).
In the Connacht/Ulster region, the report points to the value per acre for farmland with a residential holding having increased in 2018 from those reported in 2017.
Source: SCSI/Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook 2019
However, experts warn that this may be connected with the small number of transactions reported.
Average value per acre for agricultural land without a residential holding in Connacht increased by 46% for parcels less than 50ac and by 57% and 67% for the 50ac to 100ac and over 100ac categories.
The spokesperson continued: “Nevertheless, the negative relationship between parcel size and price per acre was maintained for land both with and without a residential holding.”
Munster
Meanwhile, according to the report, the average price per acre for agricultural land with and without a residential holding appeared to have stabilised in 2018 from its 2017 level in the Munster region.
“Stabilisation was also the case for land without a residential holding; values in 2018 were about 4% above those of 2017 for smaller parcels of less than 50ac but virtually the same for larger ones,” a spokesperson said.
Leinster
According to the report, year-on-year land values also stabilised in Leinster with the exception of Dublin. A spokesperson said there were negligible changes of no more than 4% in any size group for both land with and without a residential holding.
Source: SCSI/Teagasc Agricultural Land Market Review and Outlook 2019
“It is not possible to ascribe the stability to any particular feature but it is likely to have been linked to relatively stable incomes and prices and the uncertainty due to Brexit,” the spokesperson concluded.