It was beef and tillage farmers who dominated a recent auction of 216ac at Bolinahaney, Bunclody, Co Wexford, where over 150 people packed into the auction room.

The property is in one block, but divided by a public road. The farm was offered in the entire, however, as expected, the interest on the day was mainly in the individual lots.

First round

The first round of offers saw lot one open at €1m. This lot is an impressive 113-acre residential parcel, with a two-storey traditional farmhouse located 200m back from the road.

The four-bedroom house is in good condition, but would need modernisation.

There is a large complex of sheds on the farm, a mixture of traditional and modern. The vast majority of the sheds would be designated for grain, straw and machinery storage, with very little livestock generally kept on the farm.

Two bidders placed a series of €50,000 bids to bring the offer to €1.5m, at which point the other lots were offered. The second lot, a circa 49-acre parcel opened at €400,000 and was bid to €440,000. Lot number three, a 26-acre block, opened at €250,000 and increased to €310,000. The final lot of 28ac opened at €250,000 and was bid to €300,000.

After the first round of offers the combined lots were making €2.55m, with no parties interested in purchasing the entire.

Second round

The second round of offers saw lot one move to €1.7m, at which point it was put on the market. Further bidding saw the lot increase to €1.9m and the hammer dropped. The buyer is believed to be an adjoining beef and tillage farmer.

The second lot was not receiving any further bidding and was threatened to be withdrawn at €440,000, at which point two new bidders entered the market and saw the price rise to €500,000. The hammer dropped to a local beef farmer and businessman from north Wexford.

Lot number three was bid to €350,000 and sold to the local Kilrush-Askamore GAA club. It is believed the club will look to develop facilities on the lands. Lot number four came on the market at €300,000 and was sold to a local beef farmer.

In total, the property sold for a combined €3.05m, or just over €14,000/ac. The entire was originally guided at €2.5m. David Quinn of Quinn Property handled the sale.

Other auctions

Quinn Property also had several other smaller sales over the past few weeks. A 25-acre parcel located at Magheramore, Co Wicklow, was originally guided at €250,000 and fetched €275,000 at auction.

Another 19ac with a derelict residence located at Ballylarkin, Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford, was on offer at a recent auction. The residence on 10ac sold for €142,000, while the remaining nine acres sold for €65,000 to give a total price of €207,000.