Matt Dunne Auctioneer reported a few weeks ago he was instructed to sell the Late John Rafter’s Estate namely a derelict cottage on 42 ½ acres at Coolnacartan, Mountrath.
John Rafter was a noted Diviner in the area and it now appears his final divinity was not water but gold!
The Auction took place this week to a packed audience at the Maldron Hotel in Portlaoise.
The guide prices before hand for the entire was €455,000 but on the day, it made a whopping €582,000 or 28% over the guide price. In all it was priced at just under €13,700 per acre.
Matt offered the property in four lots. After two rounds of bidding Lot 1, a derelict cottage on circa 8 acres was bid €185,000
With three bidders chasing, Lot 2 of circa 8 acres was bid to €65,000. Lot 3 of circa 25 acres was bid to €230,000 with three bidders chasing while Lot 4, the entire, was bid to €505,000 with two bidders chasing.
Matt was then asked to put Lot 1 and Lot 2 together – derelict cottage on 16 acres and this is when the auction really took off!
Two bidders chased for 12 bids before the hammer eventually fell at €282,000 to a local buyer with equine interest.
Attention then turned to Lot 3, the 25 acres which was then chased by a local adjoining farmer and a couple from nearby Ballyroan (with a stud farm).
The bidding was hot and heavy in €5,000 and €2,500 trances and 15 bids later the hammer fell at €300,000 to the horsey people.
All in all, it was a fantastic success for the Rafter family who was represented by his brother Christy Rafter on the day. Matt Dunne reports he has many under bidders urgently seeking land in the Laois Offaly area.
