Land prices continue to dip in 2016

THE price of farmland has declined steadily through this year with the West of Ireland the cheapest place in the country to buy land, according to the latest price survey carried out by the Sherry Fitzgerald auctioneering chain.

So far this year, the average price achieved for land in the West came to €6,700 per acre as compared to the national average of €9,550 per acre.

According to Sherry Fitzgerald, the decrease in activity levels [for land] and buyer sentiment ‘may be largely attributable to uncertainty amongst farmers regarding income volatility, buying capactiy and the Brexit referendum’.

“Farmers remain active players in the land market, but perhaps to a lesser extent, possibly holding off for improvements in the price of produce and more reassurance with regard to wider global economic events,” Sherry Fitzgerald state.

The results for Quarter 3 of 2016 (July, August, September) are in line with the trend for the rest of the year with a general ‘softening’ of the market with the exception of the Midlands and Dublin, where the price remained stable.

“Quarter 3 has seen a decline in land prices once again. However, this in turn, will give way to opportunities for farmers to look at purchasing land at an affordable level, which may increase activity for the fourth quarter of the year,” Roseanne de Vere Hunt, Director of Sherry Fitzgerald.

The most ‘challenged’ sector price wise was for prime arable land with a drop in the average price this year of 3.2% compared to the same period in 2015.

“Evidence on the ground suggests that tillage farmers throughout much of Ireland are particularly struggling this year, with a poorer production of crops and grain.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.