Average farmland prices forecast to rise by 8%

Waterford recorded the single highest price per acre in one plot size, with some land selling for €17,400 per acre.

The report by Teagasc and the SCSI found Mayo to have the lowest-value farmland nationwide. File Picture.

Ireland's farmland values are forecasted to rise by 8% in 2023, with Waterford recording the most expensive land throughout the country, underpinned by a strong dairy sector.

At €17,400 per acre for good-quality land, this year's Annual Agricultural Land Market review found that Waterford, along with the rest of Munster, benefitted largely from rising interest from individuals investing in land to guard against inflation. 

Published by Teagasc and the SCSI, the report also found Mayo to have the lowest-value farmland nationwide, with landowners paying on average just €2,040 for poor-quality land on holdings over 100 acres.

In the rental sector, average rent prices across the country are expected to rise by 14% this year. In Munster, the figure is as high as 17%, following on from 2022 in which rent increased by an average of 13% throughout the province.

The survey of auctioneers found that prices will be driven by the constrained supply of land for rental and higher anticipated demand, particularly from the dairy sector, due to new environmental regulations.

National average non-residential farmland prices in 2022 ranged from €5,564 per acre for poor-quality land — up 5% from €5,308 in 2021 — to €11,172 per acre for good-quality land — up 2% from €10,962 the previous year.

Waterford recorded the single highest price per acre in one plot size, with good-quality land on plots between 50-100 acres going for €17,400 per acre.

Overall, the most expensive land is in Kildare, followed by Meath and Waterford. 

“Eighty-three per cent of agents in our survey believe there is likely to be an increase in demand from dairy farmers to purchase farmland in 2023," said Peter Murtagh, chairman of the SCSI’s rural agency committee.