A small slippage in Galway land prices over 2013

LAND prices in Galway slipped by nearly 5% from 2012 to 2013 with an average price per acre of just €6,800 recorded for last year, according to the Irish Farmers Journal latest land price report.

The report – covering land prices for every county in Ireland – shows that land prices in Galway varied from a low of €2,600 per acre last year to a high of €11,900 an acre.

Almost 5,000 acres of land was put on the market in Galway last year – almost exactly the same as 2012 – putting the county as fourth largest in terms of volumes offered, behind Cork (10,316 acres), Tipperary (6,648) and Meath (5,087).

According to the Farmers Journal Land Price Report 2013 published last week, one notable characteristic of the Galway land market was the high number of small parcels of land coming on the market.

Eighty of the farms up for sale last year were less than 40 acres with just seven properties of over 100 acres. Last year the average price per acre achieved was €6,827, down 4.7% on the previous year when the average was €7,168.

Editor of Land Price Report 2013, Shirley Busteed, said that nationally, the average price for land last year fell by €500 per acre to €9,400 from 2012 to 2013.

“This is not a major fall by any means but is still noteworthy. In general terms, the price of land across the country is steady.

“Values fell in 15 counties and increased in nine others but most of the percentage increases or decreases were less than 10%,” said Shirley Busteed.

Some of the factors affecting land sales, she said, included access to finance, commodity prices and neighbouring farmers ‘competing’ for land in the area.

The survey lists some of the notable transactions in the Galway area during 2013.

• Portumna: 47.7 acres sold for €490,000 or €10,200 per acre.

• Killimor: 41.6 acres sold for €425,000 or €10,200 per acre.

• Oughterard: 12.8 acres sold for €66,000 or €5,100 per acre.

• Oughterard (close to village): 32.4 acres sold for €345,000 or €10,600 per acre.

• Eyrecourt: 47 acres (residential) sold for €400,000 or €8,500 per acre.

• Ballyconneely: 35 acres (residential) sold €287,000 or €8,200 per acre.

• Portumna: 71 acres (all together) sold for €567,000 or €7,900 per acre.

The biggest farm to be offered for sale was Bermingham House near Tuam – a Georgian mansion standing on 200 acres with a stone courtyard.