A 54-acre holding selling for its 2002 price

VALUES in the land market had begun to escalate by the middle of 2002. Prices were going up, and, despite the September 11 economic slump, the rural property market had taken off at full pelt by late 2003.

Now, nearly two years into a crash, we’re close to 2002 prices again.

This week, a 54.6-acre farm at Barleyfield, Kilbrittain, comes back on the market after eight years, with a guide price of €15,000 per acre – the same level it sold for back in April 2002, almost eight years ago to the month.

The difference is – and it’s an important one – that it carried 55,000 gallons of quota back then, and that valuable addition has now been moved on by its Cork-based owner.

So Barleyfield, Kilbrittain, is offered as a pure land sale (save for one large shed), of about 30 acres of young pasture and some 24 acres under barley.

It is a top-class farm, says John Hodnett, of Hodnett Forde, and as good as you’d get in west Cork.

Suitable for any crop, the land is in one block, has road frontage on two sides and a central farm roadway, and it is located close to Kilbrittain village. It’s being offered for sale by private treaty, and has already generated interest, says Hodnett – who is seeing renewed investment in land this spring. The farm was formerly the property of Barry and Kathleen O’Mahony, and had a high proportion of land to quota at the time of sale.

The €15,000 per acre price paid then was record-breaking, with buyers coming from outside the county to view the land. The overall guide price for the property now is in excess of €800,000.