Banks’ low valuations force sharp decline in land prices

THE swift and sudden drop in the per acre average of land prices has been laid firmly at the door of the banks.

Auctioneers throughout the country have seen a huge fall in land prices, and most of them say it’s due to the banks’ insistence on low valuations.

Prices have come back as much as €15,000 per acre in a matter of months, and while the land market is essentially healthy, it has been severely affected by the credit crunch.