Data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (Thursday, February 10) reveal that there was a significant decline in the total volume of agricultural land sold in Ireland in 2020 when compared to 2019.
According to the CSO’s Agricultural Land Prices 2020, 29,031ac of agricultural land were sold in 2020, compared to 2019’s figure of 61,99ac.
Leading the charge in the most expensive region to buy agricultural land was, unsurprisingly, the southeast.
At €10,645/ac, the southeast of the country was way ahead in 2020 with 2,093ac sold at a median price of €10,645/ac.
This is significantly higher than the national median price of €6,992/ac, the price at which 29,031ac of agricultural land was sold for.
The west of the country was the least expensive region with 6,412ac of land sold at a median price of €4,625/ac.
This region accounted for the highest volume of land sold.
Meanwhile, the area with the lowest volume of land sold – just 605ac – was the southwest.
Agricultural land – devil in the detail
A closer look at some of the CSO data revealed that, in 2020, the median price for arable land was €10,338/ac, while the median price for permanent grassland was €6,791/ac.
Outside of Dublin, the most expensive price per acre of arable land was in the midlands region with a median price of €14,351/ac in 2020.
The highest median price per acre of permanent grassland was in the southeast at €10,944/ac.
The lowest price, per acre, for arable land was in the mid-east with a median price per acre of €9,660, and the lowest price per acre for permanent grassland was in the west region at €4,625/ac.
The highest value of agricultural land sold in Ireland was in the midlands, where over €40 million worth of land was sold in 2020.
The southwest had the lowest value of land sold in 2020 with €4.45 million worth of land sold.
Anthony Dawson, CSO statistician, said:
“Today’s publication shows that there was a noticeable decline in the volume of land sold in Ireland in 2020 with 29,031ac of land sold at a median price of €6,992/ac compared with 61,997ac of land sold in 2019.
“The most expensive region to purchase agricultural land was in the southeast – Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford – where 2,093ac of agricultural land sold for a median price of €10,645/ac.
“The west – Galway, Mayo and Roscommon – was the least expensive region to purchase land where 6,412ac of land sold for a median price of €4,625.”
Agricultural Land Prices for 2020 were compiled using an updated methodology which mean more transactions have been used in calculating the series, improving both the quality and coverage of the land price statistics.
Previous year’s data have also been updated to reflect this methodological improvement, according to the CSO.