Land Price Report: Longford prices at lowest recorded level

Longford land prices are at their lowest levels since the land report records began in 2006. In 2018, values stood at €6,373/ac, the fourth lowest in Ireland.

This is a 13% reduction from the 2017 figure of €7,326/ac. Only Wicklow, Offaly and Meath saw greater price reductions in 2018 than Longford.

The most expensive and cheapest land last year was seen at auction. Over 22ac at Deerpark sold in two lots in November for €222,000 or just over €10,000/ac, with one of the lots selling for €10,286/ac. At Aughafin, 40ac sold under the hammer for €340,000 or €8,500/ac, while in a highly publicised receivership sale, Bidx1 sold a 40ac farm in Mowdow for €100,000 or €2,500/ac at auction. This sale was the lowest price achieved in Longford last year.

However, the auction room struggled in 2018, with only four farms out of 11 selling under the hammer.

Unsurprisingly, part-time beef farmers were the most frequent buyers in Longford according to our database, accounting for over 40% of all land purchases. There was also an unwillingness to pay big prices in the county, with just three farms selling for over €300,000.

For what demand there was, smaller holdings commanded the highest prices. The average price paid for parcels under 40ac was €7,254/ac, compared with an average of €5,241/ac for farms over 40ac.

Supply up

The supply of land was up last year, from 906ac in 2017 to 1,069ac.

While the price drop was significant, agents also noted a reduction in the level of demand and enquiries for land. Auctioneers said that the lack of young farmers was a major inhibiting factor for farms selling, while a struggling beef trade hindered the market here. All of these factors considered, the sentiment was low among farmers and the land market suffered in Longford as a result.

Vital statistics

*Based on 16 transactions

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