Forestry rush puts land in hot demand
In fact, he has sold one property within a week, he says and that 20 acre holding at Shanakiel, Macroom, only came on the market on a Monday and was sold by the following Friday.
It closed at €305,000, just under the guide, and included full planning permission for a large, detached residence. The attached land will be farmed, Lynch says.
This week, Killian Lynch Auctioneers brings a substantial Coolea farm to the market and it has already received considerable interest.
On offer is 164 acres at Milleeney, close to the Kerry border, where a residence and some old stone outhouses are included.
The land has some 60-odd acres of good quality ground, says Lynch, with the remainder suitable for planting, and there have been a slew of enquiries since it went on the market, he adds.
The farm is selling by private treaty, in two lots separated by the road and the division are in 45 acres and 119 acres respectively. The whole thing is open to offers in the region of €380,000 – the equivalent of €2,300 per acre, a low entry level when compared with other types of investment.
Buyers are actively chasing good planting ground, he says, and another recent sale at Derragh, Ballingeary of an 89 acre holding will see that used for forestry too. That property went on the market in the autumn and has just sold for €230,000, marginally under the guide price of €250,000, but with the acreage reduced from 101 to 89 acres.
The Coolea sale could go fast, says Lynch, especially on the basis of enquiries so far this year, and also because he says he’s sold more property in the first quarter of 2010 than in the last nine months of 2009.
The upturn in forestry investment could be the start of a trend, he says, especially as prices have settled down at low levels.
“There’s an awful lot of people looking for forestry and this property at Coolea is suitable for enclosed forestry, which qualifies for higher premiums.
“There’s a guide of €380,000 on the entire lot and it’s already under offer at €370,000, but from the quality of the interest, it looks like it will make in excess of €400,000.
“I had six to seven calls this morning and most of those are from farmers or forestry companies with different clients.”
