West Cork land prices continue upward push

LAND prices in West Cork are surging high above national averages and indeed Munster averages, with grassland prices in excess of €20,000 per acre.

Tight competition for land to both buy and lease, along with nitrates changes are among the factors driving land prices higher, according to Institute of Professional Auctioneers & Valuers.

Ipav’s Farming Price Report launched recently showed prices paid for land in 2023 showed an average of €16,325 per acre for grazing land in Munster, with the national price for grazing land €12,840 itself up 5% on 2022, and a much larger 24% on 2021.

Andy Donoghue of local auctioneers Hodnett Forde Property Services, whose data helped compile the Ipav report showed West Cork continues to experience ‘strong demand for all land types across West Cork with a selection of high-quality grassland holdings experiencing prices in excess of €20,000 per acre’.

Prices for letting surged, with scarcity of supply being to the fore throughout pushing up prices.

Ipav chief executive Pat Davitt said for active and ambitious young farmers in particular, they are finding themselves competing, increasingly in recent years, with non-farmers for land.