The average price for farm land in Laois fell by 8% in 2022, the first time since 2018 that it showed a decline.
According to the recent Land Price Survey in the Farmers Journal, the average price was down over €1,000 an acre – from €13,984 per acre to €12,787.
That figure remains above the national average of €12,288 – though having been the fifth highest in the country in 2021, the average price in Laois has fallen back to just outside the top 10.
There were 25 farms put up for sale in the county in 2022, up from 22 the year previous – though the overall acreage is down, from 1,837 acres to 1,025 acres.
The 2021 figure was distorted somewhat by the fact that 1,120 acres from the Abbeyleix estate was placed on the market.
The land sold ranged from €4,796 per acre to €23,833. “Seventeen farms were offered by auction,” reported the annual Farmers Journal survey, “with 12 of them selling on the day.”
“Close to half of the holdings were bought by business owners or part-time farmers with sizeable off-farm income.
“The next most active category of buyer was dairy farmers, with cattle and mixed enterprise farmers trailing behind.
“Among the notable sales were the 60-acre block of good land at Grantstown, Ballacolla, with good sheds and a modern house, sold by Hennessy Auctioneers for €1.43 million.
“(Hennessy Auctioneers) also auctioned the 120-acre Avenue farm at Camross for €1.34 million. Matt Dunne Auctioneers auctioned 42.5 acres at Mountrath for €582,000.”
