THE PRICE OF non-residential farmland increased by 11% last year, according to research by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI)

Auctioneers at the SCSI believe sale prices will continue to increase this year, but at a much slower rate as a result of lower returns and higher interest rates.

Prices in the farmland rental market also increased last year by 5%, which are expected to increase by another 4% this year.

The research, conducted alongside the State-farming agency Teagasc, found that the average price per acre reached prices as high as €9,300 – but in some counties, like Waterford, prices reached up to €20,000 per acre.

While Co Waterford saw the highest prices, Co Mayo saw prices as low as €2,733 for farm sales. Peter Murtagh, Chair of the SCSI’s Rural Agency Committee, says that prices in Munster could increase by 11% again this year.

Average prices for ‘good’ quality farmland was almost double the price of ‘bad’ quality land. The researchers noted that 2024 could see higher margins in sales for dairy farmland, with “challenging” margins for tillage farmland.

Teagasc warned that these margins are likely impacted by the poor weather conditions seen in the earlier part of this year. 

The majority (69%) of data collected by the group included sales to dairy farmers in 2023 but the researchers also highlighted that a fifth of purchasers registered themselves as ‘other’, which includes the ‘investor’ label.

“This shows there is clearly interest from buyers in acquiring land for forestry or equine purposes, or individuals with a high net worth seeking to diversify their assets by investing in agricultural land,” Murtagh said. 

The SCSI also used data from the Central Statistics Office to quantify the demand for good-quality farmland in the current market. The data collected by the researchers found that the sale of land makes up around 0.5% of the agriculture industry in the country.

This ‘high demand, low supply’ trend will likely lead to another increase in prices this year, but the SCSI and Teagasc both warned that the price increases will level off in most parts of the country next year.

The researchers estimated that prices will increase by just 6% this year.